MAKE SURE GROOMING MEETS YOUR STANDARDS

VETERINARY PROFESSIONALS

For Veterinary Professionals

A Trauma-Informed Clinical Grooming System for Medically Fragile, Behaviorally Complex, and Coat-Compromised Cats

TANDEM™ is a clinical care model developed specifically for cats whose coat condition, stress profile, or comorbidities make standard grooming unsafe—or insufficient.

Developed through thousands of documented sessions with high-matting, geriatric, and care-resistant cats, TANDEM™ reframes grooming as a biomechanical and behavioral intervention that restores comfort, movement, and dignity.

It is used in:

Sedation-reduction protocols
Geriatric and palliative support plans
Rescue and re-entry grooming
Post-trauma recovery
End-of-life comfort care

TANDEM™ is not a styling system.
It is a licensed handling methodology designed to meet the real needs of the cats you already serve.

Why Clinics Are Adopting TANDEM™

You’ve seen it.
The cat who returns every 6 months in pelted condition, too fragile for sedation but too distressed for solo grooming.
The nervous system collapse after tangles are removed by force or pharmaceuticals.
The “no other options” moment before euthanasia—where no one knows if it’s pain, or just the coat pulling everything tight.

TANDEM™ was built for these cases.

By using a trauma-informed, two-person system, we provide non-pharmacological care interventions that:

Relieve pressure-bound movement
Reverse behavioral flattening
Restore emotional agency in cats who’ve shut down

We also prevent future clinical deterioration by equipping caregivers with a new lens on coat management as a legitimate component of feline health.

Clinical Conditions We Serve

Pelted or severely matted cats with cardiac or orthopedic risk
Cats presenting with chronic postural tension or stiffness
Cats experiencing coat-sealed inflammation, skin trauma, or odor
End-of-life cases with shutdown behaviors and grooming avoidance
Post-anesthetic rebound in grooming-averse cats
Rescued or formerly feral cats entering re-socialization

We routinely work in collaboration with primary DVMs, behaviorists, and palliative care teams.

What the TANDEM™ System Includes

Licensed veterinary partners receive:

Access to the TANDEM Touch 10™ handling and bodywork methodology
Use rights to clinical models:
- The Felting Model™
- Matting Severity Scale™
- Grooming as Clinical Care™
Training for team members in trauma-informed coat care
QOL survey intake forms and discharge mapping
Ongoing support and consultative implementation
Optional CE submission assistance (RACE, IAABC, etc.)

Licensing begins at $45,000 and includes 12-month integration support.

Grooming as Clinical Care

TANDEM™ does not replace sedation. It expands the toolbox.
It repositions grooming from cosmetic service to comfort-based clinical support for cats who can’t speak for themselves.

Your patients deserve better options.
TANDEM™ offers one.

Ready to Collaborate?

We’re currently accepting a limited number of veterinary partners for 2025.

If your practice is ready to adopt trauma-informed handling protocols for feline coat collapse and emotional shutdown, we invite you to inquire.

“Because where anesthesia ends… TANDEM™ begins.”

🐾 TANDEM™ Case Study: Tilly’s Return to Joy

How TANDEM™ Cat Grooming and Veterinary Care Worked Together to Save a Life

Client: Evelyn
Feline: Tilly, black and white domestic short hair
Duration of Transformation: 46 days
Before TANDEM™: Non-interactive, declining, at risk of euthanasia
After TANDEM™: Cone-free, joyful, playful, thriving

“I feared I’d have to put her down.”

In Spring 2024, Tilly began falling seriously ill. An autoimmune condition triggered relentless itching, leading to a red pinpoint rash above her eyes that quickly spread across her scalp, ears, and body. Her devoted caregiver, Evelyn, tried everything: saline rinses, natural ointments, antihistamines, pheromone therapy, and multiple food trials. When those failed, veterinary treatment with steroids and antibiotics was attempted—but even that offered only brief relief.

By January, Tilly was shutting down. She was hiding. She was bleeding from constant scratching. She wore a cone 24/7. She no longer played. She no longer connected. She was suffering.

“I couldn’t take the cone off for even a moment,” Evelyn recalls.
“She’d tear open her skin instantly. Her hygiene deteriorated. She was shutting down.”

Before TANDEM™: Tilly with open wounds and fur loss on her face.

Before TANDEM™: Tilly in a cone with extensive facial wounds.

A Last Hope: TANDEM™ Cat Grooming

While waiting for her next vet appointment, Evelyn reached out to Cats in the City. She’d brought her senior cat, KahLua, for grooming before—but Tilly’s case was different. She had active wounds, fur loss, and thick skin crusting. Evelyn wasn’t sure anyone would take her.

The response came quickly: “Yes, we’d love to help.”

Tilly’s first TANDEM™ appointment marked a turning point.

She received:

A hydrating oatmeal bath to soothe and moisturize raw, inflamed skin
A sanitary trim to improve hygiene while she was cone-bound
A full set of Soft Paws nail caps, chosen in green for St. Patrick’s Day, to prevent further self-injury

“She came home clean, she smelled wonderful, and her eyes were brighter,” Evelyn said.
“She had her spirit back.”

The Healing Role of Soft Paws

The Soft Paws weren’t just cosmetic—they were a medical bridge.

“By preventing her from tearing into her skin, the Soft Paws reduced the transfer of bacteria to her face,” Evelyn explains.
“That allowed the steroids to finally do their job.”

By reducing trauma and bacterial load, TANDEM™ allowed Tilly’s medications to work for the first time. Grooming didn’t replace veterinary care—it enabled it.

The Healing Role of Bathing

For a cat whose skin had become a battleground of inflammation and infection, bathing was more than hygiene—it was healing.

Tilly’s TANDEM™ bath wasn’t a typical shampoo. It was a therapeutic intervention. The oatmeal bath offered immediate relief, calming the itch that had driven her to the brink. Its anti-inflammatory and moisturizing properties worked in harmony to cleanse allergens, bacteria, and dried blood—while beginning to rebalance her damaged skin barrier.

Each droplet washed away crusts and contaminants. The warm water opened her pores, allowing the healing to go deeper. There was no scrubbing, no trauma—only relief.

And for the first time in weeks, Tilly experienced peace. The post-bath towel wrap brought warmth and stillness. Evelyn saw it in her eyes: light, recognition, and hope.

The bath reduced the bacterial and yeast load on her skin, dialing back the immune system’s overreaction. It allowed topical treatments to reach the skin—and systemic steroids to finally succeed.

TANDEM™ didn’t just clean a cat. It cleared the path to healing.

46 Days Later: Cone-Free and Thriving

Today, Tilly is:

Cone-free
Grooming herself
Chasing feather toys and laser pointers
Kneading Evelyn’s head with glitter-tipped paws
Fully engaged, playful, and joyful

Day 46: Tilly healing, cone-free, clean, and calm.

Fully Healed: Tilly playing with toys, thriving and joyful.

💡 The Power of Partnership: Veterinary Medicine + TANDEM™ Grooming

Tilly’s story is living proof that the combination of veterinary care and TANDEM™ grooming didn’t just improve her condition—it saved her life.

Her steroid treatments needed a clean, bacteria-free canvas to succeed. Her spirit needed trauma-informed handling and relief from constant discomfort. The Soft Paws prevented re-injury. The bath restored her skin. The cone could finally come off. And her light returned.

“Neither grooming nor veterinary care alone could have given her this outcome. But together, they restored her comfort, her dignity—and her life.”

Through Cats in the City’s PurrPass Program, Tilly now receives monthly maintenance baths and Soft Paw applications, ensuring her comfort and hygiene are sustained.