Matted fur help please.

[TheMagnificentStanley]

Hi
My lovely cat is quite elderly now. She has always been scrupulous in her self care but is clearly not able to groom parts of her back effectively any more. I think it's a flexibility issue. She now has some matted hair, which is getting worse. She does allow some brushing and we have both rubber and close tooth metal grooming tools. However she can't tolerate as much as she needs. Is there anything anyone can recommend, spays, ways to cut out, that people can recommend?
Thank you.

We have cordless pet clippers and trimm the problem areas

Cat groomer or vet
Id be frightened of cutting the cat by trying to use scissors or clippers myself. I have a long haired cat that gets matted and I get him clipped a couple of times a year to keep his fur under control as he doesn't tolerate brushing for more than a minute or 2.

Does your cat tolerate that ok?
My cat gets matting under his front legs and there's loose skin there that I'd be frightened I'd cut by accident

Mine had a spa day at the vet. She went in with matted fur, three boxes of treats, all of the Feliway and an attitude and after a day of being treated like royalty (she was too old and fragile for anaesthetic), came out with a gloriously fluffy head, tail, paws and a rather fetching polo neck jumper.

We have a long haired cat. He’s young so we’ve trained him to be brushed but sometimes he gets a matted section. We cut it out. I have round tip scissors and always cut halfway before assessing how much more to chop off.

Ours will now deign to be brushed every evening but it took a lot of persistence and one still gets an occasional matt.

Cornflour to remove as much grease from the matt as possible. Then gently un-matt with a stitch unpicker. Easiest when they’re lying sleepy next to you. Our pissy Maine Coon will tolerate this for as long as 90 seconds at a stretch so we manage to get rid of a matt over a few days.

Then keeping on top of the brushing. She gets them mostly in her armpits so we distract with treats and brush as much as we can.

Thank you all. Very helpful.

We used clippers when our elderly cat got to that stage as it was the least stressful option for her and one she would tolerate for short periods. She was a fluffy cat and really didn't like being brushed - probably would allow up to two brushes and then she'd complain.

Ask the vet if she needs medication for arthritis. My senior cat got mats when arthritic hip pain stopped her from grooming properly. Now she is on the right meds her hips are less painful and she grooms more effectively.

Agree, professional cat groomer or clippers.

Thank you. That's interesting. Was there any outward sign yours was in pain? Mine hates the vet so much it's traumatic taking her so we're reluctant to do so unless anything seems amiss. She does not present with any issues, eats as usual. Less active and sleeps more, but no distress noted so I'd just assumed she was slowing down with age. She is 16 years old now.

I remember DM pinning our long haired ex farm cat (with a serious attitude) down and trimming her belly with DFs beard clippers. Then DF getting a beard full of cat hair the time she forgot to clean them! 😂

I've got a comb similar to this for our cat, but haven't had to use it on anything too bad yet.

Lack of big, bendy stretches. Sitting in the loaf shape, rather than splodging out. Not moving freely when getting doing from something. Being unhappy if their lower back or hips are touched, not relaxing when you pick them up if that's something you've always done.

Looks a bit like it's still your cat, but as though she's made of plasticine that needs to be warmed up, rather than a combination of Play-do and oil, when she moves.

When she went for her annual check up and vaccinations the vet picked up that she was tender around the hips and didn't like them being touched. I'd said that she was getting matted more often (she is long-haired). Now she is on Metacam she definitely is freer in her movements, even getting up on top of the wardrobe again! She is nearly 16.