What do I do for my kitty?

Bathing will make tangles and mats worse so don't try that before brushing. You can get your cat lion cut if you don't want to brush him. This is my cat with his lion cut (it looks better now that it grew out a little). The groomer won't judge you for this so don't worry. They get so many badly groomed pets they won't bat an eye. Make sure to have the mats taken care of soon because mats can turn into pelts and those are real nasty.

Geezus these answers and that horribly shaved to the skin cat!

The RIGHT answer is you shoudl NEVER EVER use a brush on a longhaired cat. They do little to get to the loose hairs of the undercoat and pull out and break the topcoat hairs. You should be COMBING this cat's coat at least every other day with a good quality steel-toothed comb.

NEVER bathe a cat with mats. The mats will tighten and get worse. Have the mats clipped out by a professional or better - DON'T LET THEM HAPPEN! I can't believe in all the time you dealt with this cat's matted coat you didn't just Google how to groom a longhaired cat - wow.

Shaving a cat also does NOT make it cooler so it's ridiculous that people shave their cats (and dogs) "for summer". The fur insulates the skin from the heat - and the cold. See the image below. I know this is about the canine coat but it's the same for double coated cats - like most are.

Bahahahahha a that picture is amazing I love the haircut it's adorable.

Long story short I have a cat that my friend got from her aunt and the poor thing was going to go to a shelter so I took him in and when I got him he had a entire coat of hard oval shaped Nats that were rock solid and impossible to comb out. I basically conned him with wet food and while he was eating I acted like I was petting him and I cut them out. Every time he looked back to see what I was up to I hid the scissors lol.

Now I just make sure I comb him and if he won't let me I comb him with my fingers and fix knots with my hands before they become worse. I have another cat a long hair black cat who is not the best at grooming himself lol. I constantly have to comb his poof tail and he HATES it I have tried a million and one combs to no avail. I bought pet wipes and dry shampoo since my cats hate the bath too so I do that once a week and loosen tangles with my fingers and dry shampoo. Good luck

There are special shampoo conditioners for cats with fine fur, but you could get the kitty shaved. We had to shave my shaggy dog every summer for the same reason.

I think you need the help of a specialist - do not attempt to bathe the cat yourself.