I've posted before about this but now I'm out of ideas. Pidgie is my 18 1/2 year old Maine Coone/Tortie mix. She's such a sweetheart and, once we got rid of all the fleas, ticks, worms, etc., she's NEVER had a sick day since I rescued her at 2 1/2 years of age. My problem w/her is her coat. It's so thick and she has an even thicker undercoat. I used to be able to groom her w/no problem but as she's gotten older, she's come to detest grooming. She bites, scratches, knocks the brush out of my hand and gets so stressed; her breathing becomes very rapid. She has terrible clumping very close to her skin. It varies on where it is, too. Last time, it was on her hindquarters, so when I took her in for teeth cleaning, I had them shave her hindquarters. It has grown back nicely w/no clumping. Now it's on her back and sides and it's especially bad close to her tail. She goes nuts when I even try to brush her there. Should I just have her shaved all over and be done w/it?

The reason I'm asking is this: years ago I had a Border Collie and before she came to us, her previous family would shave her once a year rather than have her regularly groomed. She was so ashamed of her appearance that she actually hid until her fur grew back somewhat. After she became ours, I took her to a groomer every 8 weeks and never had to have her shaved again. Will a cat react in the same way, do you think? Pidge is such a pretty girl and she has the sweetest disposition except during grooming. LOL I don't want to stress her but I feel like a bad mom. All my cats are beautifully groomed and then there's Pidge, who looks like a street urchin. I've tried special shampoos and conditioners, the Furminator, capsules to squeeze onto her food, you name it. I'm considering having her whole body shaved, perhaps in a lion cut, and, believe me, I really don't want to do that but I'm afraid she's going to get sores underneath those clumps. What do you think? Should I have her shaved? Has anyone had to do this w/their cat and, if so, how did s/he react?