When I lived in New Haven, the wingnut dentist next door had two cats (mama and daughter) who were supposedly feral. Mama was VERY matted. I confronted this idiot and even offered to take her to be groomed. He turned me down. Said it wasn't necessary. I told him they were very painful for her. He didn't care. He told me to stop feeding them. I told him to go to hell. That's when I decided to trim her myself. "The girls" as I referred to them as, weren't feral, just scared. They had shelter in a nearby garage. It took a while, but I think Mama was actually happy to have to cut them off. Her poor skin was raw from the mats pulling at it.

I think you're doing the right thing by having a groomer do it. Especially since she gets stressed out. The last thing you need to do is get bitten again (how many would that be????).

I'd go nuts if I had to try and get one of my cats on a diet. When you have as many as I do, it's a free-for-all!!!