Lots of tangled clumps in fur...

Hello everyone,

I apologise in advance if this question has already been asked loads of times before, or if I'm missing the obvious, but I'd really appreciate a bit of advice if any of you have a spare five minutes. Thanks!

A few years my family inherited my grandmother's cat, whose name is Kat. He was originally a stray who turned up in my gran's garden, and we were unable to find his original owner - hence the slightly odd name!

Anyway, to cut a long story short we don't know a huge amount about him. According to our vet he's about 11 eleven years old, and in terms of breed I'd guess he's a standard British moggy!

We've been fine looking after him for the past 3 years or so, but recently his fur has started getting lots of tangled clumps. We've always groomed him every seven days or so, but somehow he's gotten lots and lots of tight knots, and we're finding it really hard to get them out.

Like a lot of cats, Kat gets really annoyed when we try to comb them out because it obviously hurts him. Can anyone offer a good way of helping the poor chap? I've read some suggestions regarding training cats to be patient, but I think he's probably a bit old to be learning new tricks....!

Many thanks in advance for your help,

Neon Kelly + Kat
(Forum n00bs!)

Is this a long or shorthair cat? If longer hair, you might have to shave him down (by a groomer) and start all over. Also longer hair needs to be combed several times a week - not just once a week.

He's a domestic shorthair cat. As I say, 'clumps' is probably the best way to describe the problem bits of his fur - they're not that obvious to look at him, but when you stroke him you can feel it....

Shaving sounds like a fairly heavy step, but clearly we want to do what's best for him. Does anyone else have any ideas? Would it help to bathe him and then try combing, or is it better to groom him when he's dry?

If his mats are that bad and tight to the skin then I recommend taking him to be shaved by a groomer. Then you may want to start grooming more often. Maybe he's just losing more fur due to age. That would certainly cause more mats and call for more frequent grooming.

Its a bit weird for a shorthair to have tangled fur unless its burrs or something caught tight. I think I'd take him to a groomer and see what they can do/say about it.

But if he has really thick short fur, then you should comb him several times a week. Let us know what happens.

Many thanks for your advice people... I'll check back here soon to let you know how we get on.

Cheers!