The best packing list for boarding is not the longest one. It is the one that helps your cat keep the important parts of home: familiar food, clear medication instructions, useful comfort items and enough information for the team to understand what is normal for them.
Cats cope best when the basics are predictable. Food, medication, carrier comfort, toileting habits and contact details usually matter more than bringing a large number of belongings.
A good boarding routine makes your cat's stay easier to care for day by day. Food, medication, temperament, carrier handling and contact instructions are the information that usually shape the daily routine.
Because our cattery sits inside a veterinary practice, we can connect boarding notes with health concerns when needed. That does not turn every stay into a medical work-up, but it does mean comfort, behaviour and medication information are taken seriously.
Tell us what your cat eats, what they refuse, how they take medication, what calms them, what frightens them, and what normal toileting looks like. These ordinary home observations are often the most useful information we receive.
Please also tell us about practical constraints. A cat who cannot be handled safely, a medicine that only one person can give, a food that must not be changed, or a family contact who may be hard to reach can all affect the arrangements.
A few written notes are often more useful than a full bag of extra items. Tell us where your cat likes to hide, whether they eat better from a particular bowl, and whether they become upset by noise, touch or other cats.
This is especially helpful for cats who are quiet rather than obviously stressed. A cat who shuts down can look calm from the outside, so knowing their normal behaviour helps us read them more accurately.
Label food and medication clearly, and include written dose instructions. Let us know what appetite is normal, how medication is usually given, and whether there are foods your cat must not have.
Simple written notes usually help more than long explanations. Feeding amounts, medicine timing, hiding places, handling preferences, litter tray habits and favourite safe items are the information that make daily care easier.
If medication is packed in the carrier or bag, mention it at handover rather than assuming it will be found later. Medicines that need refrigeration, specific timing or food support should be obvious from the start.
The same applies to supplements, appetite stimulants, pain relief, eye drops and topical treatments. If your cat is taking it at home, we need to know whether it continues during boarding.
A familiar blanket, small bed or washable item from home can help some cats orient themselves. Choose something useful rather than irreplaceable, because bedding may need to be cleaned if it becomes soiled.
Avoid packing everything your cat owns. Large beds, fragile items, loose piles of bedding and open bags of treats can make the space harder to manage. One or two thoughtful items are usually better than a crowded boarding area.
Choose bedding that can cope with normal cattery life. Cats may spill water, shed fur, vomit, urinate or hide food in bedding, and anything brought from home may need washing.
If your cat is likely to soil bedding during travel, put an absorbent layer in the carrier and bring a spare familiar item if you have one. Practical items can still be comforting.
Leave expensive, fragile or sentimental items at home. Boarding areas need to stay clean, safe and easy to manage, and anything brought in may be washed, misplaced or marked by the cat.
If your cat needs something unusual, tell us before arrival. We can usually talk through whether it will genuinely help or whether a simpler option will keep the stay calmer.
If your cat has had a recent appetite change, vomiting, coughing, sneezing, toileting change, medication adjustment or unusual withdrawal, contact us before drop-off. A small change at home can become more important when routine changes.
Sometimes the stay can still go ahead with clearer notes or a small adjustment. Sometimes a veterinary check before boarding is kinder and safer, especially for older cats or cats already on treatment.
The day before boarding, check food supply, medication quantity, vaccination records, parasite treatment, carrier condition and contact numbers. Most boarding problems are easier to solve before the morning of travel.
If something has changed, such as appetite, toileting, coughing, sneezing or a medication dose, call before drop-off. A small conversation ahead of time is usually calmer than trying to make a hurried decision at arrival.
How food routines are handled while your cat is staying with us.
Practical preparation for tablets, drops, injections and other regular treatment.
How carrier confidence can make drop-off calmer for cats and families.
Why vaccination status needs to be checked before a cattery stay.
If your cat has medication, anxiety, dietary needs, senior health changes or a first boarding stay coming up, talk to us early so the arrangements are practical.
If something changes before boarding, contact us before drop-off so we can decide whether the stay can go ahead as arranged or whether your cat needs extra support first.
Cat-specific advice for appetite, toileting, stress, senior comfort and clinic visits.
Carrier, litter and environment support for cats at home.
Carrier and travel planning can make boarding drop-off easier too.
Watch our cattery preparation video.
