Brushing an uncooperative hellion

Help! I have a 1 year old Domestic Long Haired black hellion named Mocha that just absolutely refuses to be brushed. Doesn't like coming onto your lap either, so I can't even get him used to the brush. The other problem is that he bites.....so I have now bought a mesh muzzle that I'm going to try out this weekend. It has velcro straps and I don't think it wil ltraumatize him to omuch. This is, after all, a cat that stared down a dog 5 times its size when it was only 4 months old and the dog gave up..... He was rescued from the local shelter by us when he was 8 weeks old, after we lost our darling Casey, and they told us he was a "Surrender" when, in fact, we found out afterwards he was rescued from beneath a house by people in the neighborhood which leads us to believe he was a feral cat. We, (and our vet) thought that neutering him would calm him down.....were we ever wrong! Now he's one year old and making my other two furrkids' lives living hell to boot, pouncing on them from behind or walking up and biting them when they are unaware he is there. I think he'll probably be better off in a single cat family, but am unwilling to part with him and am now doing research online to check the potential for behavior modification. The immediate problem is...he HAS to be brushed, because his fur is getting matted up. I hesitate to drug him up to make him more pliable to accomplish this task. Anyone with any good solutions? As it is, this weekend, I'm going to have my DH hold him so that I can cut out the matted fur and clip his nails.

I've tried getting him on my lap (on the rare occasions he has decided to do so) and letting the brush be near him, but he doesn't even go for that.

I will say, however, that I often wake up at night and find him stretched out lengthwise next to mommy and when i pet him, he'll give me comforting kitty kisses, so we know there's a heart there....I am wondering if there's a lot of jealousy issues towards the other two....We have him for only 4 weeks before getting the 2nd one.

Any thoughts/suggestions?

I would suggest you call your vet and see if they offer grooming services. Explain the matting problem, they will drug your kitty safely and get him combed out. It is likely he is attacking because of the mats, as they can be quite painful and cause skin disorders as well, so your vet can check that out at the same time.

I had a kitty that I recently had the same problem with. I took him to a professional groomers and three days later, this once healthy vibrant cat died. If I ever had to shave a matted cat again, I would only allow a vet to do this.

if you try to comb him out yourself and do not know what you are doing, you will hurt him and make an enemy of him. Again, a vet is your best call, he probably already dislikes the vet anyway.

Hi
I too have a long haired cat that refuses to be brushed. In fact if I go near her with a brush or a comb then she becomes really nasty!
I have given up trying to brush and she has given up trying to take my face off! So about every three months or so we go to the local grooming parlour and they bath and brush and apparently she is no trouble at all. We have a trip tomorrow as she has been spending a lot of time under bushes in the garden during the summer and is one big matt ball! I love my Mischa to death but refuse to get into the traumatic scraps we used to. The cost is not so bad (about £15) and she comes back all sweet smelling and a perfect pussa.
Maybe you should take this route - saves all that angst