Any tips for grooming a long-haired (bitey) cat?

[StuntNun]

My cat was in the cattery for a week while we went on holiday and her fur has become badly matted. It also looks like she's lost a couple of clumps (she fights with our kitten). She was never that keen on being brushed so I do it little and often to keep on top of the mats. Since we got the kitten, however, she's been on edge and she isn't letting me near her to brush her, she's growling at me and trying to claw and bite me. Are there any good tools for removing mats like this? Otherwise I think they're just going to need to be cut off completely and wait for her fur to grow back.

I'd cut them out. It grows back.

I used to have corner brushes for my cats. You stick them onto the door frames, corners of walls and the cats rub themselves across them which on the whole helped keep their fur mat free.

However once you have mats, and if they wont let you brush them, the best thing is to cut/shave them out. Maybe a trip to the vets for a sedative and shave?

www.ciderhousepetsupplies.co.uk/cat-corner-massage-brush-145-p.asp

I'd ask the vet nurse to cut them off, she looks a teeny bit grouchy , have you got Feliway at home for her anxiety with the new kitten, how are they getting on.

Those corner brushes look good although I would be worried about them damaging the wall (I rent) so maybe something freestanding would work better.

Retired she's much better since we got a Feliway plug in a couple of months ago. He's basically a little git though and keeps jumping her. It's all play to him but she doesn't like it.

Get a professional groomer. I have one who comes about 3 times a year. She's brilliant. Mine is based in Kettering but travels to me in Nottingham.

I use a kids tangle teaser on my cats

Top tip... You don't need to cut the knots out totally, if you cut through them (just over halfway down) the remnants brush out really easily and the cat is far less stressed.

We have a semi-long haired cat who finds being groomed difficult because she is easily overstimulated. It's not bad enough to be hyperaesthesia but she does get the twitchy back.

We do a little bit at a time (not the whole body in one go) and it helps to give her a kickeroo so that she can grab and bite it while we're brushing her and kick the shit out of it.

Just out of interest would a human back scratcher work, or a long bath back brush

Apparently the answer was a tin of tuna! She isn't completely free of mats now but she did let me do a bit of work around her neck while she was chowing down on tuna. She has a couple of big bald spots though which will take ages to grow out as she has such long hair! I'm hoping the rest of the mats will come out more easily as she's going to be shedding her winter coat soon so she'll lose the big ruff of hair around her neck.

I get one or even two people to help me hold one of my cats when I brush them. If it’s really matted then carefully cut it out with nail scissors.

All ours love being brushed with the tangle teezer but have variable reactions with anything else.
I've found wearing oven gauntlets has helped when handling a bitey cat

We used gardening gloves and a little and often approach. But our cat had hyperaesthesia, epilepsy and a spinal disorder so would have seizures with too much grooming.