Daylia,
    One cannot be too careful with the elderly! This may be somewhat wordy & too much for some, but kitty lovers, do try to persevere as I believe I have some good things to relate on the subject. Anesthetics & tranquilizers usually are too risky to use on old pets, except for emergencies. I too have an old longhaired pussycat who abhors, loathes & despises being groomed with any implement. She is, as of a couple of weeks ago, 20 years old as--yes actual human years of the calendar. I believe that this is due mostly to her stubborn desire to be with me & keeping her as an indoor spayed kitty & much love & consideration for her well being, & also, somewhat because of Kitten chow for a year, good old Friskies (now the canned stuff, the hard stuff hurts her to chew), & having had a nutritional mineral oil based product in a tube amost every day of her life--except about 3 yrs ago when she refused it no matter what. Her beautiful, shiny, silky long fur became dull & ratty, untill it was completely matted down to her skin!
    In earlier years, while her short-haired sister (God rest her little soul!) of exact same coloring loved being brushed, my long-haired pussycat would begrudgingly allow me to brush her, but, an old boyfriend teased her so with it when I was not looking that she wouldn't let me brush her anymore--running at the sight of the thing. (The boyfriend went by the wayside with the brush--possibly with a couple of bruises from it.) Then after a while, I could use a small black comb--the wide teeth, not the small--, such as many men carry in their back pockets. This really did very well, & then came the day when she informed me quite strongly that she was not amused. I used the rubbery mitt, but she only allowed me to rub her head, cheeks, & back. The sides, however, were subject to her mood! She has never in her life allowed me to pet or groom her belly. Since she had surgery on her tushy once, she never allows anybody to touch that region, which must be trimmed occasionally for necessity.
    About a year ago on a whim, I found & bought a tube of the Felovite II (kitty vitamins in a tube) which she used to love so that she licked it directly from the tube. She now insists loudly about getting that stuff each morning! Her coat is now beginning to look better, but @ 4-5 months ago after months of the games of trying to cut the horrid mats out of her fur, I got one of those pet grooming shavers--which came with a hand held battery powered device which one might palm! I lowered the ironing board, covered it with a large towel, got all the implements I might possibly need within easy reach, pulled up a chair with adequate support for my back & laid her out & we struggled for over 2 hours, after which time, I had removed a large amount of her coat, but the shaver would not cut directly through the mats. I had to work my way down through the full inch or more of matted furr, one lump at a time! I was going as gently as possibly, knowing that her bones must be brittle & her old body easily pained. After I let her go from the torture chamber, and when she finally decided to be my "lap kitty" again, I began to use the mitt thing when she was sleepy, carefully rubbing along on the still matted spots. I then worked into rubbing with a small, soft brush, following with the other hand so as she could not see the brush. I highly reccommend this method the best, especially if your kitty has thick short hair, sometimes brushing a little diagonal upward to get to some of the undercoat. One coud use the mitt like this, too. But please go gently on the old soul, & give it a try with the nutritional supplements as this will help curtail hair loss & assist in furballs moving through pussycat more easily. Nothing like an upchucking kitty waking you in the wee hours, then upon arising & having forgotten, stepping in the same spot!
Let this be a lesson to us that whenever we decide to make the commitment of bring a new feline or canine family member into our homes, we must establish good grooming habits quite early on, so as to have the critters quite accustomed to such things as brushing & combing & any such needed grooming, brushing of teeth--now they say we should floss!--& whatever other things must be done. I certainly never thought a cute & fuzzy little 6 week old furball would be with me 20 years later!