You can get rid of the matted fur yourself with a cat brush and a pair of scissors. Go slowly and do a bit each day. Snip the top of the knotted fur to loosen it and very gently work it loose with your fingers and the brush.

I don't get why he's overweight. Play with him and get him better food. You can get him groomed

You can groom your own cat. You don't have to take him out. Buy a cat brush on amazon and try to get those clumps out. It's likely dry skin mixed with hair. Your cat will probably love being brushed.

You can stop overfeeding the cat. That's animal abuse. Once the cat loses weight it can groom itself. Consult a veterinarian for a diet if you can't do it yourself.

*and

My ten yr. old cat is miserable.

He has gained quite a bit of weight over the past two years and unfortunately has not been able to properly groom himself the way he used to.

I suspect he hasn't been able to reach his back because his whole entire back has hard clumps of fur and when I try to touch them, he flinches or moves away.

I know he needs to be groomed, however when I try to put him in a carrier and take him out, he goes into panic mode.

He is strictly indoors and has only been out twice in his life. When he did go out, he had major anxiety. He meowed this scary sound I never heard before the whole entire time at pooped all over.

What can I do??