My DD got a mitt with short grooming brush on the palm side of the mitt. Her cats love it and think they're getting extra petting.
I think she got it at Petco. It might be worth a try.
oakleif

You might want to take him to the groomers for a hair cut and then in the future, really try to brush him....
We have a Red Persian that needs daily brushing and even then we get the knots and tangles..I have a tiny pair of scizzers that I use to cut(very carefully) through the knots and then use a flea comb and comb through...About every 6-8 weeks, Simba does go to the beauty shop for his bath, nail clipping and trim...We're lucky, Simba loves to be brushed and comes running as soon as I pick it up....

Thanks for your help. We have a mitt which doesn't help remove knots that already exist. Buster thinks, or should I say, knows he's gorgeous. I think having his hair cut by a groomer might depress him. Our goal is to get rid of all those awful knots ourselves, if possible, & prevent more knots in the future, using a mitt or something daily. I forgot to mention that he hates being put in a carrier, screams like you can't imagine during a car ride. Hope someone can offer a solution, as I'm certain those knots are "pulling" on his skin & must be uncomfortable.

I totally understand your situation. I had a Persian that had cotton for hair...not one of those silky soft coats. He liked to be brushed until I pulled even a little bit on a mat...then he would disappear. He would get matted up so bad that I had to take him to the vet(where I worked at the time)and have him sedated so I could shave him with the clippers. Poor guy looked goofy all the time. After clipping him I would try to keep up on brushing him, but the mats formed so quickly! I never took him to a groomer, maybe I should have, but I always tried to be gentle with him as he was a rescue and was timid. He would also get scared and squirt his anal glands, but that's another thread!
Shady, if you can get him to a groomer just once, maybe they could give you advice on coat care products...maybe a shampoo and detangler. Ask if you can watch and see how they handle your guy. Maybe at home you could use some Rescue Remedy(a herbal calmative)...I've seen it in pet stores and health food stores. Also get yourself some tiny scissors as Irishdancersgram has...they really help to carefully cut out those mats. I use the small(cheap)plastic handled ones that usually come in sets. I use a file to round out the tips so they don't poke, but will still slip between the mat and the skin. I would keep them all over the house and if my Persian was sleeping on my lap, I could pick up a nearby pair and start cutting, almost hair by hair, so he wouldn't wake up. It became a past-time...like...knitting :)

My husband entered my life in his long-haired Manx's twilight years. I watched her lose interest in grooming herself, and said nothing when this resulted in her having to be shaved. My husband was loathe to comb her because she protested. I finally intervened.

I bought this dematting comb. (We already had a similar-looking one with longer, non-razor tines, but it was nowhere near as effective.) I kept the comb and a small pair of sharp scissors on the coffee table at all times. I started slowly, since the cat had lots of "opinions." I discovered she loved to have the side of her face scratched, and I could do so safely with the outer edges (only) of the dematting comb. I slowly acclimated her to jumping up on my lap and enjoying a good face scratch. Then I'd give her part of a comb down. If I encountered anything that would entail serious skin pulling, I'd slice through it with the scissors (completely ignoring cosmetic considerations and thinking only of her comfort). If I couldn't get through the whole thing, I'd get as much as I could and go back to scratching her face. Slowly, she began to accept more grooming from me, and I was able to keep the serious matts at bay.

The trick is to give him a reason to love being combed. Even if it means he needs to be completely shaved before you get there, and even if it means ignoring some matts as you work towards the goal.

We have another (short-haired) cat now and we got her as a kitten. I have convinced her that being brushed is a treat and if my husband has a cat treat in his hand and I have a brush in mine... she'll run to me!

Your advice has been very helpful. The special comb & small scissors have eliminated all except for three or four matts near his back legs. He hates being combed there the most but I'm still working on them gradually & hope to get rid of them within a week. Personally, I would never have a cat shaved as I saw in another post, unless it was required for a specific skin disorder etc. Hopefully regular grooming will prevent knots.

Shady,
Good for you. DH (now deceased) got a cat for his daughter & I didn't pay much attention to the details, at the time. I do recall that he was concerned that the excessive knots, & the new home adjustment, would be stressful. He & his daughter got kitty a day later, as they opted to have him sedated & groomed. There was no shaving involved, but I remember them joking about Yoshi being half the cat (minus knots) they had adopted.
Like you, I'm not into pets being dressed cutsie (although Lily sometimes dresses poor kitty during play & puts him in a stroller which he seems to love) but I'm not a fan of the lion cut. I'd prefer just having the knotted areas shaved, even though it may be unsightly .