pretty kitty! Looks just like my sister’s Oreo.
Good kitty! She does not look pleased in the slightest, but I suppose that’s better for her than sedation. Hopefully grooming will become a good bonding time for the two of you. 
I have adopted an old neighbours cat aged 20yrs, she too was a sorry sight with her clumps of matted fur. A remedy I heard of was to put put baby oil on, which I did but luckily only a few clumps, it goes everywhere and the matted fur is supposed to fall off.
I could not shave her as she was so delicate, but I found the answer by using a rechargeable beard trimmer,one of the accessories with a nose hair removal kit.
Abit a day has removed them all, you need to put your fingers at the bottom of the clump next to the skin, so no damage.
She was given a little food, and she ate while I did it, hope it helps, because I am so pleased.
Note: the cat was already 13-15 when this thread was started, back in 2012.
It’s very distressing to have a cat with bad matted fur, like me, maybe someone is looking for a simple solution, that does not stress out the cat.
I put forward how I dealt with it after tryng several methods, We cannot all go to the vets for them to be taken off, firstly not cheap, and secondly why distress the cat when there are other solutions.