Serious grooming problem!

I'm not very experienced with this, but from my own long haired cats, and those I've worked with at a shelter, there are a few suggestions I can make.

At the shelter, if a cat is so badly matted, they shave them - either a lion cut or completely. Some cats they sedate for this. My vet well do this, too, because extreme matting is a health issue.

Then, I would start grooming Plucky every day. Do it only a few minutes, gradually building up to about 5 minutes. Give him praise and treats as you do it. I find holding my Harlow gently at the scuff works best. Otherwise he tries to get me to stop by using his teeth. He doesn't mind me holding him there. But that only gives me one hand to work with. If you have a human helper, that's better.

The Zoom Groom is a tool all my cats enjoy. It doesn't really do the job, but it gets them used to the feel of grooming. I like these little, kitten, slicker (wire) brushes I get at Petsmart. They are $2.99 and come in pink, blue, and purple.

I had a "master cat groomer" (google that and your location to find one) who I know from the shelter come groom my two long hairs. She handled them both fine, by herself, once we got each in the bathroom with her. She put a cloth muzzle on Ariel. She mostly uses a special (and expensive) comb. I got one of those and use that now also. I had one of those mat busting tools you described. She said they are a bad idea because they are so sharp and can easily cut cat skin. I threw mine out.

The thing is, the grooming needs to be kept up with and done most every day. I find that hard at times. My Harlow has recently formed a mat in his "pantaloons" and I need two hands to detangle it. He won't let me. After a failed attempt yesterday, I told him, earnestly, looking him in the eyes, "We have to get that out!" A little while later I saw him working on it himself. I have hope that he'll take care of it. But, if either one need it, I will get the cat groomer back.

Good luck!

Robin

I thought of a couple other things, while having a grooming session just now. Going slow and gentle is better. I had a tendency to try to do it swiftly and vigorously, to get it over with, but my cats didn't react well to that. Now it is kind of a game. I start with the Zoom Groom (which is good at removing the outer coat - the one that forms the little tumbleweeds around my house), as they really enjoy that. Then I trade off with the brush and comb.

My short haired cats love the grooming most of all. They come running when I groom Harlow. Of course, they don't have tangles to cope with. Harlow purrs through the whole thing, and if he gets away, he immediately comes back for more. He both loves it and hates it. I think it may "hurt so good." He likes to chew a bit on the Zoom Groom, which I let him. Better that or my fingers.

When he has had mats before, I would work on them for seconds at a time, several times a day, day after day. For the most part, I got them out that way - just pulling them apart with my fingers. But I'm only talking about 2 or 3 small mats on him at any one time. I've been keeping him mat free for several months now, since the groomer was here, but the one on his pantaloons was just discovered a couple of days ago.

My other DLH, Ariel, will barely let me touch her. I do get a few strokes of a brush through her occasionally. But, she also gets mats on her pantaloons. Thankfully, her coat isn't as long or thick as Harlows. At the shelter, where she lived from age 2 months to 3.5 years, they would shave her periodically, with sedation, because of matting. They gave her a lion cut and she looked so, so cute with that! But here, in her home, she has done a better job of taking care of her coat. In the 1.5+ years I've had her, I only had the groomer once.

Robin