Some time back I posted on the difficulties that long-haired pets face. Today we had a sterling example. One of our good clients has been feeding a stray cat and finally managed to make friends with him and bring him to see us. I wish that I had taken a picture before Mr.Greg de-matted him.
There's a little loose hair here, but most of it is in the form of thick, felt-like mats and wads. Many of them are heavily laced with urine and feces. This guy was covered with "wet, dirty clothes" that he could not take off.
The beautiful long hair that he will re-grow is a mutation, cultivated by the perverse race of man because it is pretty. Unfortunately, he didn't mutate some super tongue to go with it. He needs help from human servants. Consequently, living life "in the rough", he was just unable to groom himself adequately. He feels a lot better now, and smells a lot better, too. He may not look like much, but he looks better than he did while sporting that pile of crud.