Best way to deal with heavy matting or dense knots in Persian cat fur?

[Metaphor]

What's the best way to deal with heavy matting or dense knots in Persian cat fur?

I've read online that olive oil can be an effective method. Can someone suggest the ideal approach, please?🙂

Heavy matting will need to be shaved out. Once it’s at the matting stage I don’t think there is anything that can be done that wouldn’t be very distressing for the cat.

The olive oil idea may work for small tangles but it stands no chance on a heavily matted cat.

Small knots here and there can be brushed or combed out with a bit of patience and the right combs and a knot splitter but full on matting will need to be shaved.

Can you clarify how bad the matting is. How large are the sections of matting and where are they?

pet groomer or vet, for shaving

How bad is the matting? Mine tends to get a few small clumps on her chest/beneath her chin and I usually solve it by gently pulling the matts apart, or in the case of larger ones carefully (VERY) carefully cutting out the knots with nail scissors

Shaving for mats I'm afraid and the sooner the better as they pull badly on the skin and can cause skin damage.

Get the cat to a mat free state then it's all about the daily brushing. My cat loved to be brushed so it was easy, but if yours isn't a fan then have a look at grooming mitts initially and build up from there.

Amazon sell "oneisall" pet shavers which are very quiet and light.

If it's a cat that's been neglected or a stray, the kindest way to deal with it is for groomer or vet for sedation to be clippered. It's too painful and distressing for them otherwise, as the mats pull on the skin, they're at risk of being cut due to the skin underneath being loose, fragile and very difficult to find through the mats - and it's just too much to put the poor things through.

I shaved my Persians if they had severe matts. I cut my cat once trying to get a Matt off. A professional groom every few months really helps. Come over the the litter tray OP, if you need specific cat advice. We are crazy cat people!

I used a metal comb and a tangle teaser for my pair.

As a professional, qualified, experienced pet groomer, your only option if they are actual mats and not just knots, is to shave them (preferably get a professional to do this, cats skin is very thin and it's very easy to cut them if you don't know what you are doing). Please don't attempt to de-mat or believe useless online advice about how to get mats out, de-matting is painful and unethical, animals don't care what they look like, you are much better off shaving them and then learning how to adequately maintain their coat from that point.

Book a groomer, trim fur right gavj, all tangles/matting out, keep cat inside. Then regular brushing.

Really bad is a vet job under sedation. Small matted areas like in the armpits is a comb under the matt and cut with scissors above the comb ( saves nicking skin) . Brushing daily building up the time with treats and starting with a baby brush ( getting used to it ) to a defurminator or equivalent or detangling brush to prevent Matt's in the future....use treats to help you dreamies or cat frubes ( as the kids name the yoghurt type tubes) try to get the armpits and creases and crevices each time .

Vets or groomer to be shaved. Long hair cats should be brushed minimum of daily, ideally twice daily.

Thank you everyone for the valuable information. We've managed to sort out a few of them, but it looks like we'll need to visit the groomer for the thicker ones.

If they're bad you need the vet to shave them under sedation.

@Takoneko - Thanks for the advice, the matting on my kitten is quite dense and located primarily under his chest down bit area. I'm leaning towards seeking professional grooming help to safely shave these mats.

Mats do cause pain to the cat or kitten.

Our long-haired fella had his mats shaved under deep sedation.

One of our cats became matted. The vet was able to shave her after a dose of Gabapentin. Much cheaper than full sedation.

@Metaphor can we have a pic of the days Persian?

Said. Not days!

Unless you have a recommended groomer I think it’s safer to go with the vet , not all groomers are good .

As a dog groomer who has dealt with cats, the knots can be clipped, Hopefully the whole coat won't need clipping off. I have dealt with matted cats and just clipped out the mats

Thank you, everyone! I visited the groomer last week, and everything sorted now. It turned out to be an easy task for the groomer, who handled it very professionally. We care deeply for our pet and didn't want any harm to come its way, so what seemed like a dense mat to me was easily managed by the expert. I appreciate all your suggestions and am pleased that everything turned out well. Thanks once again.🙂

My Persian has to be clipped twice a year by a groomer (who is absolutely amazing if anyone in London or surrounding areas wants a recommendation). It's just not possible to manage her coat ourselves once shedding season starts!

Wow, @BillCar, she must be good. If anyone tried to do that to one of our girls, they’d need armour. We need to kit up with oven gloves and a thick scarf just to use the flea spot on 😁

Also another point I'd like to mention is about shedding season. We've noticed that fur is everywhere😫, and we end up spending a lot on lint rollers😫. The fur even gets into our stair carpet and wardrobes. Do you have any tips or effective practices for minimising the amount of fur on our clothes?