"Pat" wrote in message
...
Billy and Lily are getting lumps of tangled fur on their undersides. They
are beyond combing and brushing out, and I'm scared to try to cut them
off.
They seem to trust me enough but I don't trust myself. Who can tell me the
safest procedure? I don't want it to get any worse than it is.


Pat, truly my best suggestion if it is that bad is to have a groomer or vet
shave those mats out because if they're that bad you run the risk of cutting
them by accident and their skin is very thin -- trust me, I never felt so
bad as when I did that very thing to my elderly long-haired cat, Shetra
(RB), using cuticle scissors, and then had to get 2 stitches put in at the
vet's. Once the bad mats are shaved off you can work on keeping them combed
with a pretty neat comb that I found at Petsmart -- it has rotating tines so
you can actually loosen the mats with less pulling on their fur -- a slicker
brush has also been useful. However, I was warned by a groomer to never try
using those de-matting blade cutters that they also sell at Petsmart and
other places -- these look like curved razor blade-like combs with
handles -- apparently unless you really know how to use them you can cut the
cat with those by accident, too.

Hope this helps,
Christine