The cat's fur consists of thousands of hairs.
Usually the hairs are neatly next to each other, but sometimes tangles arise. If you ever have tangles in your hair, you know how difficult it is to get them out. Felt in cats occurs when such a tangle gets more and more stuck and more hairs get tangled in it. Eventually a plaque forms that you cannot possibly comb out.

Felt is a painful affair for your domestic tiger. The skin under the felt spot pulls tight, which makes moving very painful. Felt patches also close off the skin, causing it to heat and become a paradise for parasites.

You rarely see felting in healthy cats.
There is almost always an underlying (medical) cause. If you find hard pieces in your cat's fur, it is wise to go to the vet. These are possible causes of felting:

• Long hair: Longer and fuller coats are more difficult to wash. In addition, long-haired breeds such as the Persian or Exotic often have short noses, which makes washing in itself more difficult.
• Old age: Old age comes with flaws, and so do cats. Painful joints and less flexible muscles mean that your cat can no longer reach everything. Risk areas are the armpits, buttocks and back of the back.
• Overweight: even overweight cats are often unable to wash themselves properly. In overweight cats, matting usually occurs just above the tail, on the back and on the flanks.
• Poor health or pain: bladder problems, bad teeth or displaced vertebrae are regular reasons that a cat no longer bathes properly.
• Dry air: in winter the cat's fur is often at its thickest. In combination with dry air, tangles sometimes turn into large felt spots within a week.

Good food can do wonders for some cats. The better the condition of the coat, the smaller the chance of tangles. Are you curious which food suits your cat best? Then fill in our Selection Guide.

Felt is sometimes difficult to recognize with the naked eye. You won't feel it until you stroke your cat thoroughly and encounter hard spots. Is your cat not a cuddly toy? Then you can see if the coat looks greasy.

Starting felt can be removed with an iron-toothed comb.
Proceed with caution, as pulling hard is very painful for your cat. Sometimes it helps to put some cornstarch on the felt spot and gently fluff the felt. Shaving is often the only option for large felt spots. It is best to go to a professional cat grooming salon for this.

Once the cat has been freed from the felting, you naturally want to prevent this from happening again. That starts with keeping a close eye on whether your cat washes everywhere. If you see that your four-legged friend is skipping spots, try tickling it to trigger the licking. Long-haired, old or overweight cats can be helped by combing the areas where felt quickly develop daily with a wide-toothed comb. This way you remove tangles before they can felt.