Built because cats move—and one person does not have enough hands.
TANDEM Cat® is the feline-specific, two-person care method developed inside Cats in the City. One professional supports, interprets, and responds to the cat’s movement while the other performs the grooming or care task.
The method separates the support task from the technical task.
Traditional one-person grooming often asks the same person to control movement, monitor safety, interpret behavior, manage tools, and complete the procedure. TANDEM Cat® distributes those responsibilities.
Dedicated handler
Maintains body support, tracks movement, monitors breathing and balance, and adjusts position before the cat becomes disorganized.
Dedicated groomer
Focuses on coat, skin, claws, hygiene, tools, anatomy, and task precision without simultaneously controlling the whole cat.
Movement-responsive care
Movement is information. The team follows, redirects, pauses, supports, or changes the task rather than treating all movement as defiance.
Sensory modification
Sound, visual input, surface, room setup, body pressure, tool selection, and the Comfort Hoodie may be adjusted to reduce overload.
Somatic observation
Posture, breathing, balance, muscle tone, skin, coat, mobility, and recovery are observed as part of the care event.
Decision-based limits
The team can defer, stage, shorten, change scope, request medication planning, or seek veterinary input when continued care is not appropriate.
Support is active, adaptive, and co-regulated.
TANDEM Touch™ describes the trauma-informed handling approach used within TANDEM Cat® care. It includes supported positions, pressure and release, orientation, pacing, and real-time adjustment based on the cat’s response.
Shared language improves decision-making and guardian communication.
TANDEM Cat® tools help describe coat condition, sound sensitivity, care complexity, and observed response without shame-based or vague language.
Matting Severity Scale
Standardized language for coat fusion, severity, functional restriction, and intervention planning.
Sound Sensitivity Scale
A trauma-informed framework for auditory reactivity and recommended care modifications.
TANDEM Touch™
Supportive positions and co-regulated handling applied within the two-person care system.
TANDEM Cat Institute
Professional education, standards, research, credentialing, and field development.
TANDEM Cat® is a care framework, not only a grooming position.
The principles influence grooming, boarding, complex care, transport, transition planning, staff training, documentation, and facility design.
Clinical grooming
Two-person awake care for routine, advanced, senior, medically complex, and high-risk grooming.
Cat grooming →Boarding and complex care
Observation, medication, feeding, diabetic support, and handling decisions integrated into the care environment.
Complex care →Professional standards
Groomer certification, facility certification, provider identification, education, and continuing development.
Professional pathways →Guardians, groomers, and facilities enter through different doors.
Guardians can find care. Professionals can explore training and credentialing. Facilities can review certification and operational standards.