For whatever reason, this year has been a rough one for the longhaired cats. All the boys and Rhea have been having a lot of large hairballs, and Rhea even had a big wad of hair get stuck being pooped out and require a bath, and she was forming mats as well. I got some hairball lube and gave them all a dose, but I thought Rhea needed to get a haircut and get those mats cleared up.
In the last day I felt some scabs on her shoulders and neck and thought it was likely she had fleas too. When the vets confirmed this she had to get a more complete shavedown, a lion cut.
Sadly for Rhea, she has a bit of reaction to the Revolution dose — it makes her drool like a gusher for quite a few minutes. You can see a couple of the shoulder scabs here at the top of the shoulder.
All the other cats got a dose too later at home. They only dislike it a little.
She’s been a bit reserved this evening mostly because they gave her a bit of sedation and she’s feels more comfy a bit more isolated from the boys than normal.
You can see the zones of her various fur colors right on the skin…white, creme and blue.
The other pictures don’s show up the booties quite as well as real life.
Here she is nodding off as I play a video game. She didn’t mind climbing all the platforms to the topmost one.
ThreeCatYard 
You aren’t kidding about this being a bad year for mats and hairballs among long-haired cats! My two are the worst ever, even when I give them regular brushings and try to work on the mats as they occur.
As for the hairballs, I feed them a dry food that controls hairballs. Yeah, instead of hacking them up, they poop it out! And they poop it out with what looks like a touch of diarrhea. With luck, it happens in the litterbox. If not, the second best spot is in the bathroom on a hard surface that cleans easily. Of course, too often, it’s on carpeted floors.
All told, I’m ready to give in to a close trim for them like Rhea got. Mats between the legs have to be uncomfortable and ultimately would restrict movement if not removed. I’d feel terrible to be that negligent! Now all I need is compliant kitty boys! Or I may have to go the route you did and have them cleaned up under anesthesia. Their next grooming appointment is late September…if they and I can wait that long!
(You still are beautiful, Rhea! And you will grow that beautiful fur back in no time!)
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Calpurnia had huge mats around her legs when I adopted her and she was so happy to get them off.
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I bet! Dougy and Andy are getting them there now, and I’m slowly working through them. I have no training in grooming cats. Though a bad haircut will grow out, they are so beautiful in their longer smoke Persian coats, neither lets me brush them enough to prevent ll matting. (I just pulled one by Dougy’s ear apart, slowly. This works well until I tug attached hair! That close to his ear, I was afraid to use scissors or clippers even.)
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I’ve heard that even cutting the knot in half removing the outside bit, or nipping it into segments can help the cats self groom. The isn’t that determined a groomer tho. Big mats just have to be cut out.
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Poor Rhea! All that gorgeous fur gone. But one must admit that the trim makes for fascinating photos. And I agree with weggieboy – she’s still quite lovely, though in a novel way.
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She’s pretty on the inside, and now you can almost see inside
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Oh my goodness! You can see how much of her was floof now! Her body is so tiny next to her still fluffy head! Poor sweetie, fleas stink! Love her little booties though, she’s still absolutely adorable!
We’ve been on the watch for mats too, with our fluffy crew.. They are nasty and I hate cutting so close to their skin.
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