what causes hair to matte up

Question
i have an 18yo spayed male cat/indoor/outdoor.I have noticed that with the intense heat during these past months my cats hair has gotten full of matts.His hair has never had these at all.I want to know what causes this to happen.I have always groomed him due to the long coat but now it is hard to do so..Please help!!!

Answer
Hello Gail, By keeping him in during the heat of the summer you could cut down on the matting, though with our very long haired cats, we run them to a groomer and have them "lion" cut when the mats begin.  

Those mats can actually hurt your cat, as they knot tigher to their skin and can cause skin problems.  I don't know why cats all of a sudden mat, though we all know that during the summer they shed more, and tend to mat more too.  

Maybe since he is still young, you can get him used to the once a year (or twice) groomers to have him shaved?

There is a Vet on here that may know exactly what causes these hair mats to get so tight you may ask.

I know with my Norweign Forest Cat, she must get a lion cut each spring/early summer even though I brush her daily.  The mats get too tight and after 10 years, she is like a dog in cat fur at the groomers - she got used to it and just sits there waiting for the relief that comes from shaving off the fur and letting her skin quit getting pinched by the mats.

Amazing how fast their fur grows back - only 2 months and our Bonnie, the longest haired one in our home, now has baby soft medium length fur already.  But she made it through the heat without those awful hurting mats, so it was WELL worth the money to find a caring groomer that knows how to work with cats.  

I know PetCo (tm name : -) in our area has Vet's and groomer, and the one in our town is wonderful with cats - but check YOUR local one out well, as you don't want him tramatized this early, just get him used to the once a year trimming!

Good luck sweetie,
Debbie