Question about cat boarding

Hey guys,

We had our cat in a cattery when we were in the UK. They came and picked her up for us and we went and got her when we got back.

Now, when we picked her up, she was in a tiny cage, with a bed, litter tray and her bowls next to the litter tray. When I say tiny, I mean that she could stand up but there wasn't much head space room for her.

We paid $17 per day, I was led to believe that she would have her own "space" and on their website it showed like larger sized spaces. Almost like narrow rooms with scratch poles etc.

It's playing on my mind that she has been in this cage the whole time, she has come home a totally different cat - flighty and scared of loud noises etc. She wasn't really like this before. And she is clingy as hell. Just won't leave me or DH alone and is even sitting within proximity to DD at times (which is VERY unusual).

When we went to pick her up it was 5 minutes before closing time, so I am wondering if maybe the cats are put into these little cages overnight. Maybe I am just trying to talk myself into that to make me feel better about leaving my poor fur baby in a cage for 3 weeks. :(

I want to ring them and ask them - but what good would it do? :(

I feel so sad that we did this to my poor kitteh!

So I guess the question is, is this normal for cat boarding?

Maybe she was in there ready to go home?

I dunno - I've only boarded a cat once, and it was a little old lady with cages in her backyard. They were VERY spacious, plenty of room to climb and puss was more than fine when we picked him up.

I imagine kitteh didn't like the place as much as home....and I hope she goes back to normal soon xoxo

Thanks Lulu, I did think that. DH was FURIOUS when we picked her up and I was just really upset.

I might just ring them - I'm just a bit scared of the answer.

Where the IL's take their cat, the cages are really big & the cats are let out to play in special rooms a couple of times a day for a few hours.

I did work experience in a kennels/cattery once and the cats were all kept in large cages, but on the day that they were to go home, they were put into a smaller one to wait for collection. Same with the dogs. You can always ask the people for a tour - if they are decent and reputable, they will have no issues with this.

I'd definitely be ringing or emailing just to set my mind at ease. You're not going to want to use them again if that's the conditions they're in! But I hope she was just in there to wait for you.

FWIW we put one of our cats in a cattery for a couple of nights while we were doing some renos. I know for a fact she was in a nice roomy cage with access to an outside area of her own; still came home all freaked out! She took some time to calm down that's for sure lol!

I recon she was just in there because she was coming home. I had my baby in a cattery while we went away and he always comes back so hungry lol. I must overfeed him haha

I think if your really upset you should ring and ask. There's no harm in that for some peace of mind :)

:hug:

I think you need to find out either way. It's not normal though. I visited a stack of places when we moved here to check them out before we chose a place to board our cat and there was one dodgy place so I guess they are around. If it's the first time boarding your cat will be unsettled after coming home regardless of how comfy she was. She'll calm down again :hug:

:hug: poor kitty. I'd say she was just in there so she was easily accessible when you came to pick her up. has she ever been boarded before? She could just be a bit traumatised by the whole experience..cats can be a bit funny if their routines are broken. At least it's nice to know she missed you?! (unlike our idiot dog who we boarded for about 10 days a couple of christmases ago, we came to pick him up and he acted like we'd never even been gone! Lol)

My parents had a dog that would sulk for a week when they put him in the kennel for holidays. Maybe she just disnt enjoy her stay away from home?
Where there bigger rooms there or were they all small cages? I'd say call em. Worse case is you know not to take her back there again.

Just like Helle, my parents dogs would always and act different when they got home from the kennels.

How is kitteh tonight?

Yep I've worked in a vet clinic that had a cattery, on the day they were going home we would bring them up and pop them in a smaller bed just to make getting them easier when the families came to pick them up.

Hey guys,

Well, i rang them and she DID spend all that time in there. :( :( :(

*sobs*

Won't be using them again. We should have checked the place out first!

:(

:o oh my goodness, that's horrible! So she wasn't let out of that cage at all? No wonder she's so traumatised! Is there an agency in your state that "manages" boarding facilities? Like some department that sets out guidelines for boarding businesses and carries out inspections? Maybe the RSPCA could help..because surely that would be considered animal abuse if all the cats there are being kept in tiny cages for the duration of their stay?

ETA: it's not your fault hun, you weren't to know they were like that. After all, we put our trust in them that they'll take of our animals almost as well as we do, that's what they are there for...to provide peace of mind for owners that their pets will be well looked after while they are away!

I have been thinking about doing that ss_storm! Tomorrow I am going to ring the RSPCA and see if this is standard practice. I expressed my concerns on the phone to the cattery and they said that I should have paid extra for play time. :(

*Sigh* Poor kitteh!

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they said that I should have paid extra for play time. :(

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What the?!? Play time/space to actually be able to move shouldn't be an optional extra you have to pay for! I'm sure you would have already paid them enough to board her there for however long you were away..the basic needs of any animal include freedom to move and express their natural behaviours!

I know :(

We paid all up $434 for our cat to be in a cage. I feel sick.

That's horrific. I would definitely be reporting them to the RSPCA.

Omg!!!! That's disgusting! Call the RSPCA tomorrow! I'm appauled! Poor kitty :(

agree that you need to call the rspca on this one. we have a cat boarding home down the road from us and they offer small rooms with indoor/outdoor areas - there is lots of room for the cats to move around.

I'm on it. Going to follow this up tomorrow, thanks everyone xxxx

That's terrible! Your poor kitty cat :(

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I expressed my concerns on the phone to the cattery and they said that I should have paid extra for play time.

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You just reminded me of a place I was looking at years ago to keep our dog while we went interstate. They offered cages with concrete floors, when I asked where his outside access was I was told I had to pay extra for him to be let out, $5 per go! Once you put a bed and food bowls in with him there wouldn't have been room and he was expected to just go right there. I found other accommodation for the old chap!

Good luck!

Whoa that's terrible, surely they aren't allowed to do this? How long was the boarding for - that seems a large amount of money.

It was for 20 days.

how did you go hun? would be interested to know what you've found out if you don't mind sharing!

Oh that's awful and cruel! Surely they aren't allowed to do that?! I'm so sorry Sue, your poor cat.

I've rang the people from the information that you gave me ss_storm and they said they'd look into it. But the place that we used is on their list, so I am assuming it's all above board. Hmmm........

Will follow it up at the end of the week I think!!

Thanks so much guys xxxx

Are we allowed to ask where you boarded kitteh? Or is that against the rules?
I have boarded my cat at a number of places on the Northside of Bris over the years and he has always had a reasonable sized cage. The one I really liked got sold off for apartments though. :( At one place when I called about xmas boarding they said that if they took him he would be in a small cage for part of the time as they didn't have a large cage free for the whole time. I found somewhere else for that holiday, but they were very open about it. Did they mention having small and large cages? I would think if they were doing anything illegal they would have been shut down already. You may just have to settle for going somewhere else if you need boarding again.
$17 a day is pretty cheap these days though, all the 'luxury' catteries are between $24 and $30 a night! That really adds up when you are away for a few weeks.

Yeah Berrme, I think I might just have to accept that this is the way that cattery runs. Won't name them and shame them here, I'll PM you the details. It was in a gorgeous setting though, we drove up to it thinking that she'd had a better holiday than we had!! LOL
They never mentioned the sizes of the cages, and what they advertise on their website certainly isn't what we saw.

Ah well..... I just need to get over it. She's home safe with us and is still a bit sooky. Although, I quite like her being sooky as I get loads of cuddles! Hehe, she was never really a cuddly cat before.

I think that next time we go away, we'll get some friends to house sit or something.