Fur Knotting Up

I have several long-haired cats. A couple of them have problems with their fur getting knotted up into furballs. I try to brush the cats often, but not all of them like to be brushed. My question is: how do I get their fur "unknotted"? It sometimes gets close to their skin. That makes it impossible to cut off. I need some advice on furball detangling. Please help.

Sometimes sprinkling cornstarch on the tangle will help. I gently pull the knot apart <-> to loosen it and comb around the edges until it all comes out. This will take hours if the knots are tight enough. I would recomend having your kitties hair "shortened" at a groomers. They are the experts and the kitties will be much cooler!

Some knots are to the point that shaving them out is the only safe thing to do. Even I would not attempt to cut knots out of a cat with a scissor and I have been a pet groomer for 18 years. your best tool, the one I could not survive without at work, is a shedding comb. it is a metal comb with alternating long and short teeth. It will pull out a great amount of hair that the cat is shedding (to prevent mats) and it will also take out certain mats.

A lot of long haired cat owners will opt to shave either the belly or the entire under carriage. This along with the rear end (which can be trimmed) are the most sensitive areas to brush and will prevent a lot of the matting problems.

Hi! Peaches gets mats just from grooming herself. So I have to brush her at least a little bit every day. One trick I was told once by a vet was to get some "No More Tangles" spray it on the mat and gently work at it with a comb. I haven't had to try it on Peaches yet so I can't tell you how it works. But it might be worth a try. First I'd like to see if anyone out there thinks it might be harmful to the kitty's skin, because I just don't know.

Peaches' Mommy

If you use scissors, use those blunt edge bandage scissors, and pull the mat up with a comb first, to pull the mat away from the skin. Cut only a little bit off at a time instead of trying to get the whole thing.

Royal Canin makes a skin and coat blend dry cat food that is wonderful for helping this problem.