My daughter and I were able to shave some, very tight to the skin, matts off of of our cat's lower half, mostly on her hips. She is a huge scaredy-cat and any sort of noise makes her jump and run. I had purchased a different brand at one point and she won't get any anywhere near it, but we were able to scruff her and get her to relax as much as possible while using this tool. It was amazing.