My elderly medium haired cat stopped grooming herself during the hot summer last year and we had to take her to the vet to have her tummy shaved. She hated the brush we had so we were reluctant to brush her. The vet's technician recommended a silver coloured comb with one wide side and one narrower side and it works really well. It pulls off the matted fur but doesn't seem to hurt. There is also a grooming tool, which I think is mainly for dogs, but we got the one for a small dog and it doesn't hurt either, but I'm not sure how effective it is as we just got it.