fir on cat

Question
I have a 17 year old female cat that has hard, matted hair balls on her belly and
back side near her rear.  When I comb them out, it is painful for the cat because
it takes a lot of pulling to remove the stuck together hairs and also it pulls out
good hair.  How do I prevent the matted hair?  And what causes it?

Thanks for any feedback you can give me.

Answer
Mary,

You really should consider taking your cat to a groomer to be clipped short. Start over fresh with short fur and be sure to groom her every day as it grows out, that should prevent the serious matting that you describe. Lack of sufficient grooming on her part or yours is the cause of the matted fur. DO NOT attempt to groom her any further, as you mentionned it is painful and inhumane to keep doing it at home. If either your vet or a professional groomer does shave her they take great pains to make sure that it doesn't hurt her. Make sure that if you choose to go the groomer route that they are not going to sedate her. In my opinion sedatives belong in the very competant hands of veterinarians - they know the dosages well and they also have the equipment should something start to go wrong. Another plus is that should she need to be sedated your vet has the staff to monitor her vital signs and if they should start to dip slightly as I said the vet has the drugs and equipment to fix problems as they happen as well as having the knowledge to see problems early. Hope that answers your question. Please do not hesitate to contact me with any further questions or concerns, I will do my best to answer them accurately and promptly.