Advice on grooming cats and removing matted fur

[IfAtFirstUDontSucceed]

We adopted two 6 month old boys 8 weeks ago and it's becoming obvious that they're going to be a very fluffy pair - the vet seems to think they might have a bit of Maine coon in them.
Anyway, one of the boys has some lumps under his neck which I think is matted fur. When he first came home he had a bald patch there where he'd been shaved, so it seems as though this has been a problem before.

I've never had long haired cats before. What's the best way and how often should I comb them?

Also, how can I remove these lumps from his collar?
He's a soft boy and likes being stroked, but doesn't like being held. I'm scared to tug at them too much in case I end up hurting him. He's very wriggly so there's no way I could get scissors near him with out cutting him.

Thanks!

I'm not a cat expert but do have a long haired cat! Small and often would be my advice, get them used to the brush by using on their jaw, which they love, and occasionally stroking elsewhere.... Over time up the strokes elsewhere. My girl does best with short (less than 5 mins) every other day or so. She very rarely gets knots, when she does I wait until she's asleep on my lap and gently snip them out with (sharp!) fingernail scissors. Don't cut close to the skin, if you cut away the top half of the knot the rest will brush out easily. Hope that's useful!

Daily grooming.
Used a furminator on our old girl with success.
If they are proper knots then they may need sedating and shaving again.
Is it knotting by an actual collar. Do they need a collar. Chipped?

When we first rescued our lovely girl we had to have some of her matts shaved off . Our vets does a thing where you can book them in for the day and they'll do very gentle dematting in little bursts throughout the day so as not to stress out the cat.

From then on we worked really hard to train her to be brushed, starting off with a tiny bit/sniff of the brush followed by a treat building up very very slowly. We'd get the brush out every few days.

Two years on and we can now do a very thorough brush. She absolutely loves it and will throw herself on the brush if you put it down.

Thanks,

Sorry Wolfie, he isn't wearing a collar at the moment, I just meant the matting is around his collar area.
They were chipped just a couple of weeks ago. I'm paranoid about snipping them off in case they aren't actually fur, but something a bit more gruesome!

I tried to give him a comb last night and he just tries to bite the comb and wrestle my arms with his super sharp claws. His brother on the other hand is 10x more fluffy and loves being combed - even let me do his tummy!

I have two Maine Coons (and had another previously).
We use a furminator, a knot splitter and a tiny pair of scissors. Comb, slice and if needed , chop. It worked with Morpheus (not keen to be groomed but let us reluctantly) . Ophie is happy to be groomed and we manage to keep her pretty knot free with a daily groom... even rolls over to have her tummy done.

Obie however.... grr. WILL NOT let us. A few mins is the most he will allow which doesn't touch his incredibly thick coat. As a result he needed dematting at the vets last summer and I have just booked him in to be done again.. and this time I'm afraid he is getting a lion cut :(

I feel like a total failure with him that we have to do this but his fur becomes almost felt, the undercoat matts so close to the skin that it is not possible for me to get the splitter through. We try every day but he generally does a runner before we get more than a few strokes of a brush!

I'm hoping a clippering all over will buy us more time..and thankfully it's not cold out (if he doesn't stay inside because he is embarrassed!)