Find out what sets us apart!
Shawn Lioyryan, CTCG, MSW & Dr. Daniel T. Lioryan, CTCG, Ph.D.
At the heart of Cats in the City is a unique and powerful partnership: two founders who combined their backgrounds in neuroscience, social work, and animal behavior to reinvent how cats are cared for. Together, Shawn and Dr. Dan Lioryan built TANDEM™ Cat Grooming not as a service, but as a philosophy—one grounded in science, shaped by compassion, and delivered with clinical precision. Their synchronized approach to feline grooming and wellness is more than revolutionary; it is restorative, trauma-informed, and rooted in dignity.
TANDEM™ isn’t just a technique. It is a certified training program, a behavioral methodology, and a care model designed to improve feline wellbeing at every stage. With a success rate over 99.99%, Shawn and Dr. Dan have established TANDEM™ as the gold standard in grooming and behavioral care. Their leadership continues to elevate the industry, their team, and the lives of thousands of cats and the people who love them.
A cat behavior specialist, master groomer, and co-founder of Cats in the City and TANDEM™ Cat Grooming. With a background in clinical social work and animal behavior, Shawn has combined his expertise in human-animal interactions, stress management, and behavioral training to revolutionize how cats receive care in grooming, boarding, and in-home settings.
With a Master of Social Work (MSW) degree, Shawn spent years studying behavioral intervention, therapeutic techniques, and stress reduction methodologies—all of which he has adapted for use in feline grooming and handling. His deep understanding of anxiety, trauma responses, and trust-building has shaped the foundation of TANDEM™ Cat Grooming, ensuring that every aspect of the grooming process prioritizes feline comfort, emotional well-being, and consent-based handling.
Shawn is a Certified TANDEM™ Cat Groomer (CTCG) and a pioneer in structured, cooperative grooming techniques that minimize feline distress. His leadership in the field has redefined cat grooming as an integrative wellness practice rather than a simple maintenance service, positioning TANDEM™ as a gold standard in professional grooming.
As co-founder of Cats in the City, Shawn has worked alongside his husband, Dr. Daniel Lioryan, Ph.D., to build an evidence-based, behavior-driven approach to feline care. Together, they have developed the Certified TANDEM™ Cat Grooming Program, a scientifically informed, hands-on training system that is shaping the future of cat grooming and feline welfare.
At the heart of Shawn’s work is his commitment to improving the lives of cats and the people who care for them. His vision is to bridge the gap between grooming, behavioral science, and compassionate handling—ensuring that every cat receives the respect, patience, and expertise they deserve.
Dr. Daniel T. Lioryan is a neuroscientist, feline behavior specialist, and co-founder of Cats in the City and TANDEM™ Cat Grooming. With a deep foundation in animal behavior and physiology, Dr. Lioryan has dedicated his career to elevating the standard of feline care through science-backed, trauma-informed, and stress-reducing grooming techniques that center the emotional and physical wellbeing of cats.
He earned his Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the Vollum Institute at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), where he implemented the Animal Behavior Unit—a cutting-edge research facility focused on understanding the neural and behavioral mechanisms underlying stress, movement, and neurodevelopmental disorders. Prior to OHSU, Dr. Lioryan trained at the University of Rochester and published extensively in some of the most prestigious journals in neuroscience, including Nature, Nature Neuroscience, The Journal of Neuroscience, and PNAS.
Dr. Lioryan co-authored landmark research identifying the critical role of glial cells in the progression of Rett Syndrome, helped define non-cell autonomous mechanisms in neurological disease, and advanced gene therapy models for MeCP2-related disorders. His work has been cited in the ongoing scientific literature and continues to influence the understanding of neurodevelopment, stress physiology, and the cellular environment of the brain.
Today, Dr. Lioryan brings this elite expertise into the field of feline care. At Cats in the City, he leads training, clinical protocols, and staff development with the same scientific rigor that defined his academic work. He co-created the Certified TANDEM™ Cat Grooming Program alongside his husband and co-founder, Shawn Lioyryan, CTCG, MSW. Together, they designed a fully synchronized, trauma-informed grooming methodology built around feline-specific needs and backed by behavioral neuroscience.
TANDEM™ Cat Grooming is the only grooming system developed from a foundation in clinical science, behavior analysis, and veterinary-adjacent handling. The approach focuses on behavioral mastery, medical awareness, and cooperative care. Dr. Lioryan’s scientific knowledge and compassion have shaped a grooming model that not only achieves a 99.99% success rate, but also restores dignity, reduces stress-related illness, and enhances the human-cat bond. His passion for advancing the quality of feline life through innovation and research remains at the heart of everything he does.
Cats in the City wasn’t built overnight—and it certainly wasn’t built just to turn a profit. It was built on sacrifice, conviction, and a relentless, day-in, day-out commitment to Better Care for Cats.
From the beginning, we knew that excellence couldn’t be rushed. We weren’t following a model. We were building a new one.
For the first thirteen years, we worked every single day. That’s not a turn of phrase—no weekends, no holidays, no sick days. Because when you’re responsible for lives—especially lives that depend on routine, patience, and emotional safety—there are no shortcuts. Cats don’t take days off from their needs, so neither did we.
We lived inside the business. Quite literally. We slept in what are now boarding suites for over a decade to fund our future. We turned away instant profits in favor of long-term reputation. We didn’t just offer grooming—we invested thousands of hours building a new method: TANDEM™ Grooming, a trauma-informed, medically aware, behaviorally sensitive approach to grooming cats in a way the industry had never seen.
We developed six levels of care for boarding—not because anyone asked for them, but because cats needed them.
We sat at the vet. We watched. We asked questions. We stayed up at night tracking subtle behavior shifts in diabetic boarders and elderly cats in recovery. We earned our authority by living every layer of what it means to truly care.
In 2017, we attempted our first local staycation. It was a trial run—just a few days, close to home, phones still on. In 2018, we closed our original Sellwood location for a month to take a proper break. When we returned, we gave our staff a month off, too. Because if we were going to build something real, we had to build it sustainably—not just for us, but for the people who would carry this forward.
That became the rhythm: a season of deep work, a season of rest, and a team that grew with us.
By 2025, for the first time in our company’s history, all four Cats in the City locations were fully operational, fully staffed, and thriving—and we took our first real vacation. Not a staycation. Not a test. A true exhale.
I was 45 years old. We started this when I was 26.
One that says cats deserve more than cages. More than conveyor belts. More than being an afterthought in a dog-dominated world.
We built Cats in the City to be a place where:
Cats are seen, understood, and respected.
Behavior and wellness are inseparable.
Grooming is trauma-informed.
Boarding is care-first, not cage-first.
And every team member is trained in science, observation, and empathy.
That’s what it took to build Cats in the City.
And that’s what it takes—every day—to keep it worthy of its name.
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We highly recommend Cats in the City to any cat parent seeking reliable, professional, and caring cat sitting or boarding services. It's reassuring to know that our cats are in such capable and loving hands when we're away. We recently switched from boarding services to their in-home cat sitting service. Mary S. did a terrific job. We received daily updates with adorable pictures.
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It was our first time using a cat hotel for Moxie. We did a lot of research and selected Cats in The City. The house is clean, cheerful with lots of natural light. The staff genuinely cares for their feline lodgers. The interactive program reduced any separation anxiety our cat might have had. We really appreciated the daily meow messages. We would recommend this hotel for any cat owners.
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Do you want your cat taken care of by the kindest, sweetest, most thoughtful humans imaginable? Do you want your trips away to be filled with thoughts of how well your cats are taken care of rather than how mad they must be? Cats in the City is all of that and more! Honestly, they take better care of my cat than I do, reducing the stress of travel for me and my fur dude. Cannot recommend them enough!
We measure our love of cats by how much we are loved by them.
Have questions or need to arrange care for your feline friend? We’re here to help! Reach out to us for any inquiries or to schedule our services.
For more immediate assistance, feel free to call us. We look forward to hearing from you and providing the best care for your cat!
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