Cat de-matting

[mamajoan.livejournal.com]

Hi all,

My cat has gotten so fat that he isn't able to groom himself properly on his back, and as a result, in the summertime his fur gets terribly matted despite my efforts to brush him regularly. (I keep hoping our other cat will decide to start grooming him, but so far no luck with that.) It's time to get the mats taken care of again. Last year I ended up taking him to the vet to have the mats shaved off, but unfortunately he tends to freak out when he goes to the vet, and they end up having to sedate him, which, in addition to being expensive, is stressful for him and fraught with potential health risks.

So I wonder if you know of someone who is experienced in cat grooming and makes house calls? I've found a lot of mobile dog groomers, and some of them say that they also do cats, but I wonder how good they really are with a cat who, while normally pretty placid, can get vicious when he's scared. Plus he weighs 17+ pounds so he isn't exactly easy to control.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!