ADVICE ON BOARDING?

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Mush Mush

550590

Purred: Mon Sep 8, '08 8:22am PST


	Hey everyone, our meowmy needs some advice because her & daddy will be going on an international vacation for 3 days in January 2009. This is much needed cause they haven't even gone on a local vacation for a very long time. Also, this will be meowmy's first time traveling on a plane-so she is just driving daddy completely crazy right now! She was wondering what should her & daddy look for in a quality boarding facility??We don't want anything too fancy...but somewhere that won't keep us locked up in a cage all that time would be nice! Mommy would like to find a boarding facility that has a cat play area-with cat trees & fun stuff like that -so that when we are let out of our caged areas we can really enjoy ourselves. One that has a separate room just for cats...sorry-we can't stand barking! And mommy's hoping the room could be sound-proofed as well as climate controlled. So that's basically what mommy & daddy are looking for: 1) has activity / play area for cats 2) room is separate from dogs 3)room is sound-proofed-We would prefer to not know there's any dogs there! 4) Climate controlled- has heating when cold & air conditioning when warm. P.S. We know pet sitting is less stressful- but we don't trust anybody we don't know well into our home & we don't trust leaving our babies in someone else's home, either. And, family & friends aren't much help either, unfortunately. The resort we'll be staying at does not accept pets (we didn't plan it this way, daddy won this vacation-so we had not too many choices in planning our lodging!) So, we know boarding can be very stressful-that's why we don't want anything too fancy-just somewhere that feels like home & not a shelter or a vet's office. Any suggestions- We live in Queens, NYC & this is the 1st time we would ever have to leave our babies for a while & board them??

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Diego

I'm bringing- sexy back

Purred: Mon Sep 8, '08 11:52am PST


	I would start by looking here at Catster Local. Just click the Local tab from the red tabs above. You can enter your zip and what you are looking for. Often these places have reviews from other catsters and dogsters. I am sure whatever place you choose will let you come and check out the facilities first.

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Kiki

605999

Purred: Mon Sep 8, '08 12:12pm PST


	My meowmy is going on vacation on Friday for 9 days and she is going to board us at this nice place that is just for cats. The nice lady that runs it lets the cats out for up to 6 hours a day and Kona and I can stay in our roomy cage together when we're not out playing. She has a huge sisal rope column - I can't wait to climb that thing! My meowmy spent a long time looking at different places - she visited two in person before making a decision. The first place smelled really bad, was tiny, and the lady that ran it was out running errands more than she was there so meowmy thought she'd better keep looking. Look for a place that strives for a flea free environment and requires cats to be up to date on their shots. Ask how long the cats will be allowed out and make sure you get a straight answer (the first lady wouldn't give meowmy one). Oh, and meowmy read that cat sitting isn't necessarily the best idea if your cats are mischievous like us. We can get into all kinds of trouble because we are lonely. Meowmy read about a cat that turned the water faucet on and completely ruined a house! Even after all of that, meowmy is already feeling guilty about leaving us... But we'll be fine.

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♥- Suey- ♥

Loved

Purred: Fri Sep 12, '08 7:36am PST


	Like Kiki mentioned, look for a place that requires you to be upto date on shots. We also had to be upto date on our anti flea spot on treatment, and have been wormed for intestinal worms. We got a recommendation from our vet, it was a boarder that was attached to another of the vets in the chain. I loved that there would be a vet there most of the time, as well as the vet nurses who had playing with the boarders as a part of their job. I know you said you didn't want the vet office feel, but this one, while in the same building, felt seperate. The presence of the vet was a big plus for me, as Suey went there 3 weeks after being spayed, and I am a worry wart! Vets can also be a good place for recommendations, as they can point out ones to stay away from. Our vet mentioned one specifically where they had had people bring their pets in after being boarded, because they were worried about injuries their cats had. They were minor injuries, but they were still injuries, and I was very relieved to find out it was no good before going there. Ask to go in and look around, so you can see first hand what the place is like. Kiki's example of the smell is a quick way to tell if things are under control there. One thing I did when we went to visit was check the water bowls, to make sure they were all full and had no muck or anything in them. We took a bunch of Fui and Suey's stuff with us to the boarder, to help them feel a little more comfortable. They had their own toys and their carrier in the enclosure with them. We also had a couple of blankets on the bed with us for about a week before we left, and they took those with them. We chose to provide our own food and treats too, rather than them having the stuff the boarder provided. It was a good food that they were offering, but we wanted to minimise the disruption as much as possible. I hope the bit about injuries didn't worry you. I was a wreck at the start of our holiday, and was counting down till I could see my babies again. They looked annoyed when we turned up again, as they'd had so much fun on all the cool play equipment and getting lots of cuddles from the girls at the clinic!

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Scooter

Even the sun- loves me.

Purred: Wed Sep 24, '08 9:53am PST


	My first thought is your vet. Does your regular vet board? Mine does (and I do so adore her). She has wonderful spaces and places for cats and it gives me a chance to get their shots updated if necessary or any other medical tests while we are out. If we have a cat that is maybe ill or needs medical treatment on a regular basis, we board our furrballs with her. That way it's all done and they are relaxed and ready to come home and torture the dog. Now because I have so many cats (inside and outside), I get a sitter for the rest of the motley crew. I do have a regular sitter who is worth her weight in gold, diamonds and platinum. They are all fed MY food and water on MY schedule, get regular attention and if anything looks remotely odd or not right, she is authorized by me to take that cat(s) immediately to the vet for treatment/examination where they will stay until our return. The sitter makes daily notes and even sends me daily emails which I can retrieve on my cell phone. Hey, I got a lot of cats - I get paranoid, OK? That's my two cents. Cheers!

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Zoe

No, you cannot- look at the- number.

Purred: Sat Oct 4, '08 8:53am PST


	Yoda voice Make your parents go see the place first, you must. even if it's at your regular vet your parents trust. Stress this enough, I cannot. Zoe voice My Mommy thought our regular vet's boarding would be nice, but it turned out to be just a row of metal cages located far too close to the dogs cages. We ended up getting a pet sitter (which purrr-sonally I think is still a good option if the parents research them well enough) But, anyway......last year when we were living in a house that turned out to be located on a former bombing range, we got evacuation orders from the Army Corps of Enigineers. :O) Pet-sitter not an option here. Since Mommy can't take us to work, she looked at boarding facilities and found that some of them can be really nice. She found one that had cool "cages" which were more like kitty-condos with that we can jump around in, up against windows facing nothing but trees. And they were smart enough to have the cat area on the side of building opposite to the dog area. Another one with a great reputation turned out to be mostly dogs, barking ALL the time, with a couple of cat cages thrown in the laundry room in back. in Yoda voice See the facility, you must. Edited by author Sat Oct 4, '08 8:57am PST

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Spidey

612753

Purred: Tue Dec 16, '08 4:13pm PST


	Go to any of the following pet sitter trade organizations most all are insured (which you may not find on care or sittercity or on CL) and do private in home boarding: www.petsit.com www.petsits.com

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Boris

I'm cute and I- know how to use- that :)

Purred: Wed Dec 24, '08 11:01pm PST


	I'd do pet sitters instead. We (Gracie and I) love ours, and we are quite happy about staying home, instead of having to go someplace that smells weird and different.

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Bonnie

Bonnie the- Beautiful &- Bonnie Lass

Purred: Tue Dec 30, '08 3:42pm PST


	While none of us lived with our Meow-mom when she was in NYC, she found a GREAT, certified Vet Tech (also bonded) that would come 2 times a day to our place - on Staten Island. We were VERY happy with her, though a bit worried about someone "different" coming into the house we understood. We took the extra precaution of locking anything valuable UP in a bank's lock box, but that said - nothing ever happened. When Meow-Mom lived near Dallas, TX the vet had a whole room just for boarding cats! No barking dogs, VERY clean and every gang got out to play for hours at a time. Agree, make sure they require shots UTD, flea treatment recent (though a few fleas isn't as bad as a horrible boarder)... and time out with just YOUR kitties to play. Good Luck!

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