Ever since we had Jonny, our cats have been… well, neglected to say the least. And when you have a long-haired needy cat that goes months without being brushed or groomed, you end up with a mangy, matted kitty with mats all the way down to his skin that obviously cause him pain to the touch.

So we finally took him to the vet to see if they could be shaved or combed out (along with a rabies shot and checkup). He gained another pound since his last checkup, bringing him to 17 lbs, 8oz). Then, they tried to comb out some of the mats, but they were so numerous, we opted on shaving him instead.

I used to feel bad about shaving our cats thinking, “They’ll be humiliated.” But after taking care of a baby for a year, man, I really couldn’t care less how the cat feels. It just saved us months of having to try to groom or comb out those mats. One less thing on the “to-do” list is always good.