Struggling with feisty felines? ???? Learn the safest, most effective techniques to handle and groom cats with confidence!

Cats in the City • TANDEM Cat® Clinical Grooming

Clinical Insights: Grooming Cats with Cardiac Murmurs

For DVMs, RVTs/VTs, behaviorists, and feline groomers. This page shares what teams can observe, learn, and co-develop with TANDEM™—without prescribing medical care or dictating clinical protocols.

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Observation of low-arousal TANDEM Cat® handling in a quiet suite
Learning Outcomes

What Providers Can Learn with TANDEM™

  • How coordinated, two-person handling can shorten contact windows and reduce unnecessary repositioning.
  • How environment (sound, light, thermal load) influences arousal and tolerance during hygiene care.
  • How segmented sessions and planned recovery periods can make complex grooms more feasible.
  • How non-force, consent-based positioning supports safer work with alert, non-sedated cats.
Positioning: TANDEM Cat® shares observational methods and handling frameworks. Medical diagnosis, risk thresholds, and pharmacology remain under DVM authority.
Observation Themes

What We Invite Teams to Watch For

  • Changes in breath effort across short handling segments versus longer continuous handling.
  • Effect of quieter tools and softer lighting on startle responses and recovery time.
  • Impact of natural postures versus rigid restraint on tension, struggling, and vocalization.
  • Whether staging multi-visit care improves comfort and finish quality for the individual cat.
Collaboration

Co-Developing Case Approaches

We welcome joint planning with your team for hygiene-critical cases. Many partners find value in mapping environmental parameters, agreed “pause” indicators, and preferred session lengths—framed as shared observations rather than prescriptive rules.

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Training & Observation

See TANDEM™ in Action

Observation days and focused modules illustrate how low-restraint feline hygiene can be integrated alongside clinical care. Content is oriented to skills transfer and shared vocabulary, not medical guidance.

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Informational only — not medical advice. Diagnosis, pharmacology, and risk decisions remain with the attending veterinarian. TANDEM Cat® and TANDEM™ are proprietary to TANDEM Cat®; used under license. © 2025 Cats in the City. All rights reserved.

Shawn and Dan are the inventors and developers of TANDEM Cat® Care, the founders of Cats in the City, and the founders of The TANDEM Cat® Institute. This method is a safer and more relaxed experience for your cat. When the TANDEM Cat® Grooming technique is used, two or more professional groomers attend to your cat, comfortably and naturally positioning them while the lead groomer focuses on the coat. Solo grooming involves only one groomer, which is unsafe and stressful.