fur clumping on my 4 year old tabby

Question
Good evening!   I hope you had an enjoyable Thanksgiving.  My question is ... my 4 yr tabby has a spot on the posterior side of her back where the fur has clumped and is hard as a rock.  I cut it out once and combed it out as best I could, but it quickly returned and is larger. She has since developed three more smaller clumps.   My sis-in-law yesterday suggested a correlation between f. leukemia and this condition, which I did not believe, nor could I find any on-line substantiation of such. She is strictly an indoor kitty anyway.  She's a good weight and very healthy.  She is a very skiddish young lady, and the last time I cut out the large on, it was traumatic, so I do not want to make another attempt for fear of hurting her.   The thought of giving her a bath brings about laughter from my kids and conjures visions of me having to wear one of those suits police wear to train their dogs to attack.  Any ideas on why her fur is clumping and what I can do about it?

Answer
Cheryl,

I am assuming she is a longhaired cat and what you are seeing is the dead hair matting while she is shedding out her coat.  In the northern hemisphere, our cats have shed 3 times this year, February, July, and now!!!!!!!!!!!

I would comb her out every day.  If the skin feels peculiar, you may want to take her to your vet to see if anything untoward is happening to her!

It just sounds to me as if she is matting as she sheds out her coat.  If her hair is really long you may want to have her clipped down.

Please let me know what you find.

Seasonal regards... Norm.