Calling those with Long-Haired Kitties

I have never had a "long" haired cat before so I'm a bit confused as to what to do. Toulouse is what I would call a medium haired cat... he isn't that poofy, But I don't really know the designations. He definitely has longer hair than Captain, who is def. short haired, or Kanoe, who has small bloomers.

The problem has just started the past couple of days. Toulouse's longer fur is gathering litter (I use natures miracle, a pine litter) and mats into little dingleberries (as we call them in this house) In the past, there's just been one or two in his bloomers, easy to get out either through grooming or just letting him do it. Now they're all over his belly and chest... and sadly Toulouse is not huge on grooming himself every couple of hours or letting us do it. They are gross... but I'm not sure how to prevent them. He's just hit about a year old, and his fur is longer than ever!

Should I just try and groom them out for him? It's a process that he hates (I have a couple of bite marks from this morning). Should I take him to a groomer to "thin" out his hair? Does such a thing exist? Toulouse doesn't seem to have a problem with summer's heat, so I don't think he needs a lion cut.

Any advice would be appreciated!

We also call them dingleberries at our house. I have had to trim the fur on the backside of a long haired cat for the same reason. If he is having problems on the tummy a professional trimming may be required. I use Scoop Away which may be an entirely different situation than the pine that you use.

I am a firm believer in the Zoom Groom. My current long hair hasn't had problems with dingleberries so I am not sure if the Zoom Groom would work for that.

I got a professional groomer's face trimmer for dogs on eBay. It fits in the palm of your hand, cost less than $20, isn't too loud, and works GREAT as a butt trimmer. Ginger has really long fur on her rear end, and keeping the fur trimmed right around her little bottom has completely taken care of the stuck litter and klingon issue for me. In fact, when I see a dingleberry, I know it's time for a new trim!!

You have a few choices. If the cat is not a show cat, you can trim the fur shorter around/under the tail where it would mess up more.

The belly has to be combed - NOT brushed. Start a regular weekly or every few days grooming session to groom the entire cat from head to tail. Once you establish a regular routine, you'll have a much happier cat and will keep any mats, etc. from getting really bad.

You DON'T thin a coat out on a cat.