Cat has dreads

My roommate's cat is about a year old now. As the cat's gotten older, his fur has grown in thicker, longer, and fluffier. The fur on his belly started dreading up a while ago. My roommate told me he'd take the cat to the vet to get the knots out in JANUARY, and they've only gotten worse. It's so bad, I'm pretty sure he'll need to be sedated to shave all those knots off his stomach. Is that too extreme? I'm afraid of doing it myself because the dreads are so close to his skin, and he gets real squirmy. Any advice would be helpful. Do I take him to a groomers or the vet?

From the sounds of it, he'll have to be sedated and full shaved. Vet's office is a safe bet... also if some are really bad and they nick with the shaver, then at least he's where he needs to be to get a stitch or two. After that, perhaps someone should encourage your roommate to pick up a brush once in a while? :eek: