Why does his hair mat together???

Henry the VIII (a big, fat brown tabby, barn cat) was adopted from a cat rescue leage and know nothing of his history. Recently the hair on his back has started to clump or mat in large chunks, like it was dipped in shellac. It doesn't seem to bother him and the skin underneath is clear and clean. You can't brush it out, can only cut of clumps of hair that seem "glued together" . Any idea of what this is and what to do. Thanks.

Since it is on his back is it something that he could possible has contact with / scrape against?

It happens when they rool on the carpet. My short haired cat Kinks has this happen to her. She will just get either one big clump or a few small ones. I have a grooming tool that basically slices through mattes. But if you just keep up on the brushing this will happen less and less.

I recommend Shed Ender if your cat is longhaired and a Zoom Groom if she is short haired. Shed Ender is great to get out the undercoat which can make tangles and mattes more likely to happen. The Zoom Groom is a hunk of rubber in the shape of a cat with large rubber bristles. You run this down your cat's back over and over. You will see some hair fly up and get clumpy on the cats back but just keep going over it and it all sticks to the Zoom Groom eventually and picks right up. Both are great grooming tools to help cut back on the liklihood of mattes and knots.

I had this prob with Ginger, and the vet put it down to things like sleeping under the radiator, but as soon as I changed his diet, it stopped. It could also have something to do with him being overweight.

Lots of times the chemistry in their mouth causes saliva left in the coat to sticky up the hair. I am always suspicious of such areas, though, as even if the margins of the skin look clear there is very often a skin issue in there somewhere. Even a tiny skin problem will ooze, and the exudate is what hardens the coat. Then less air penetrates,the skin gets worse and it develops into a real problem.

You have to get the clump out whether by brushing, cutting, or shaving.