Choosing a luxury cattery for your pampered feline

Luxury boarding isn’t just for the dogs. More facilities are catering to the posh feline than ever before. Anyone who has a cat and also travels has felt that same sense of foreboding. What will I do with fluffy? The usual course of action is to enlist the help of the neighbors, offer to shovel their driveway next winter, give them a bag of gourmet coffee, whatever floats their boat. Anything that will persuade them to take care of your little bundle of fluff while you’re away.

Never fear jet setting cat owners, there is a solution that will give you piece of mind and leave your cat purring.

The newest service for cats is luxury boarding, or ‘catteries’ that are designed to cater to your cat’s every whim. Plush pillows line sturdy but attractive cages, cat trees adorn the walls, and their very own concierge service will bring them anything from filet mignon to home baked delights. This my friends, is the world of the pampered cat who is lucky enough to secure a spot in one of the growing number of cat hotels across the country.

But it’s not all caviar and lace my darling, oh no, there’s also a large emphasis placed on safety and recreational activities for the cat to enjoy. A safe and entertained cat, is a happy cat and one that enjoys his stay at the kitty hotel. Many facilities have 24 hour monitoring either by full time staff or in the off hours by camera. This means that your princess will be closely watched and her every need attended too. What more could a posh feline ask for?

Well, funny you should ask since my own cat made sure to mention that she’d really like TV to watch in her down time. All that pampering can wear a girl out and what better way to relax that by watching birds and other assorted creatures flit across the TV?

I have to admit, I’m not one to entrust my cats to just anyone. I worry, stress and leave single spaced three page print outs detailing how exactly to care for Ms. Sprinkle and Mr. Mint. The lucky person who has the honor of feeding and watering them while I’m gone is always ‘thrilled’ by that, but what an I say, my babies deserve the best. Now, I can bring my cat care instructional booklet to the folks at my local Cattery, hand over the fluffies and not have to worry about them getting enough attention or feeling like I’ve abandoned them. Nope, they’ll be too busy hanging out on the cat tree, munching on some all natural food and taking in a show to even notice that I’ve left.

How to find a fabulous cat hotel near you

The ABKA is a great resource to find out who’s licensed to board pets. Just being listed here does not guarantee a great facility, but it does let you see who’s serious about boarding and is willing to submit their facility to random inspections. An ABKA accredited facility is ideal.

Your vet, or more importantly the staff at the front desk. They re the ones who hear most of horror stories and many of the rave reviews. Chat them up about your plans to board your kitty and see who they recommend. Calling up a few other vets in town is also a great idea. If the same name pops up more then once as the place to go, then you’ve got a place to start.

The Phone Book. Archaic yes, but still a decent way to get a list of local boarding facilities. Call them up and see if they provide a luxury service for your cat.

The BBB. The Better Business Bureau is the most common place a person will go to lodge a complaint with a company or service. I strongly recommend checking out any facilities with the BBB before boarding your cat with them. Looks can be deceiving, so don’t take their word for it that they’ve only had satisfied customers. Doing your research will give you greater piece of mind when the time comes to hand over fluffy.

Go for a visit. A good cattery will allow unannounced visitors to view their cat area. The doesn’t mean that you should show up at the crack of dawn or right before closing, being considerate of their time is a good way to start out a positive relationship with your cattery. Call them up and ask when the best times to visit are, but don’t schedule an appointment. Showing up at random (but within their preferred times) is the best way to get a realistic feel of how well run their cattery is. Remember, they probably have many animals to care for so a full tour might not be in the schedule fro them. However, they should allow you at minimum to view their cat area and see for yourself the conditions.

If a cattery will not allow you to visit without an appointment, cross them off your list and move on. While they may not have anything to hide, you don’t know that. Being well informed on the general level of care provided is extremely important to the well being of your cat.

Get the facts. You’ve found the perfect place for your feline friend. What now? At this point you’ll want to know exactly what types of services or amenities they provide.

* How much the fee is and if there are any extra fees for certain services,
* When their pick up and drop off time is,
* If you can bring your own food(preferred as some cats will get an upset stomach if switched to quickly)
* Are the cats allowed together or separated (separated is better, your cat may be friendly but the others may not be)
* Are vaccinations required
* Is there 24 hour monitoring available

Once you’ve settled on the perfect retreat for your cat sit back and enjoy your umbrella drink on whatever sunny island your vacationing at and congratulate yourself for being thorough in your search, having high standards and most of all for giving your cat her own vacation in a fabulous cat hotel.