So... in the summer we reluctantly paid the vets to clipper him. As a 20 pound Maine Coon teenager, with serious cattitude and very poor grooming habits (ie he doesn't bother and he will NOT let me groom him for more that 5 mins at a time) he gets matted. Very.. like felt to his flanks.
The vets in their wisdom didn't clipper him but spent hours (at great expense...mine) detangling and then shaved a HUGE patch on his flanks where it was worst.
I have tried... I have every comb/knot splitter known to man. But after 5 mins max he scarpers and I then nurse my wounds. He is now matting badly again and I can only get to the surface knots.
I have some clippers. I have systematically tried to trim, comb, split his matted bits (he looks fab on the surface but the undercoat is awful) He has THE thickest longest coat I have ever seen.
Do I try myself, with DH's help to hold him? Despite the fact that he is THE most badass ungrateful cat of all time I don't want to frighten him! But the vets did a dreadful job..and not what I had asked them to do. I asked them to clip him short precisely because I knew he would be in the same state again.
I feel horribly embarrassed about it... his sister is no problem and she is groomed daily and enough to keep the knots at bay, but he is a very different personality.
Or do I book him in and hope they do a better job this time?