Oh weird, I should have said human hairbrushes, I'd never thought of this before but they aren't scared of their own brushes ( which look less like an possible hedgehoggy sort of creature I suppose ), one of them used to even like being brushed with the dyson brush attachment ( yes when it was on ), but she is really odd around human hairbrushes.
I have to brush my lot because they are indoor cats and I vacuum up a kittens worth of hair everyday anyhow.
Me and My OH Mary, and no, the only violence they have experienced is watching The Professionals.