Boarding Your Cat for the First Time: A Complete UK Guide
Cats are creatures of habit. They're territorial, they thrive on routine, and they generally don't appreciate change. So the first time you book them into a cattery and disappear for a week, it's completely natural to spend half your holiday wondering how they're getting on.
The good news is that most cats do just fine in a well-run cattery, especially with the right preparation. This guide covers everything you need to know if you're boarding your cat for the first time — from finding a good cattery to what to pack and how to help an anxious cat settle in.
Is a Cattery the Right Choice for Your Cat?
Before anything else, it's worth being honest about whether boarding suits your particular cat. Every cat is different, and while plenty of them take cattery life in their stride, others find it genuinely stressful.
Confident, adaptable cats that are used to visitors and unfamiliar environments usually cope well. Cats that are shy, highly territorial, or closely bonded to their home environment may struggle more, particularly for longer stays.
If your cat falls into the more anxious category, a cat sitter coming to your home is worth considering instead. Staying in familiar surroundings with familiar smells removes a significant source of stress. That said, home sitting relies on finding someone genuinely knowledgeable about cats rather than just someone willing to pop in for five minutes once a day, so it needs to be the right person.
For most cat owners, a good cattery is the more practical and reliable option. The key word being good.
Finding a Cattery You Can Trust
Just like kennels for dogs, all boarding catteries in England must be licensed by their local council under the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) Regulations 2018. Every licensed cattery is given a star rating from 1 to 5 based on their welfare standards, with 4 and 5 star facilities going beyond the minimum requirements. The licence should be clearly displayed on site, and any reputable cattery will have no issue showing it to you.
Beyond the licence, a few things are worth checking:
Visit before you book. A good cattery will always welcome a visit in advance. When you go, pay attention to how clean it is, whether it smells fresh, and how the staff interact with the cats already in their care. Individual pens should be warm, dry, well-ventilated and large enough for a cat to move around comfortably, with a hiding area, a shelf or raised surface to sit on, and a litter tray.
Cats should not be able to see or touch each other. This is an important welfare point that many people don't realise. Cats are not naturally social with strangers, and being able to make eye contact with an unfamiliar cat through a wire door is genuinely stressful for them. A well-designed cattery has solid partitions between pens, or at least visual barriers, so each cat feels they have their own space.
Ask about dogs. Some facilities board both cats and dogs. This isn't necessarily a problem, but the areas should be completely separate and cats should not be able to hear or smell dogs nearby. If there's any doubt about this, it's worth finding somewhere that exclusively caters for cats.
Check reviews. Look for patterns across multiple reviews rather than fixating on any one comment. Things people mention repeatedly — staff who send updates, cats returning home calm and well-fed, clean and welcoming facilities — are more meaningful than a single glowing testimonial.
Vaccinations: What You Need
This is the one thing you absolutely cannot overlook. Every reputable cattery in the UK will require your cat to be up to date with their core vaccinations before they can stay. This protects your cat and every other cat in the facility.
At a minimum, catteries require vaccination against:
Feline herpesvirus (cat flu)
Feline calicivirus (cat flu)
Feline panleukopenia (feline enteritis)
Some also require or recommend vaccination against feline leukaemia virus, though this varies by cattery.
Bring your cat's vaccination certificate on the day. Most catteries want to see it, and turning up without it could mean your cat can't be admitted. If your cat's vaccinations are out of date, book a vet appointment well ahead of time. Primary vaccinations require two injections a few weeks apart, and your cat typically needs to wait at least a week after the second injection before boarding. Don't leave this to the last minute.
What to Pack
Catteries provide the essentials — food, bedding, litter — but there are a few things worth bringing from home that can make a real difference to how settled your cat feels.
Their usual food. Dietary changes can cause digestive upset, especially in a cat that's already mildly stressed. If your cat eats a specific brand or variety, bring enough to last the stay. Most catteries are happy to follow your feeding instructions.
Familiar bedding. A blanket or cushion that smells of home provides genuine comfort for an anxious cat. Some owners even tuck in an unwashed item of clothing for the same reason. Don't bring anything you'd be upset about losing — things occasionally go missing in the wash.
A favourite toy. Something small and familiar gives your cat something to interact with and sniff out during quieter moments in the pen.
Your cat's vaccination certificate. As above, don't forget this.
A written care note. Leave the cattery a brief summary of your cat's routine, food preferences, any quirks or anxieties, medication if needed, and your vet's contact details. The more context the staff have, the more personalised the care they can provide.
Helping an Anxious Cat
If your cat tends to be nervous or you're worried about how they'll cope, a few things can help before the stay even begins.
Get them comfortable with their carrier. Cats that associate the carrier with a trip to the vet will often panic the moment it comes out of the cupboard. Leave the carrier out at home for a few weeks before the stay with a familiar blanket inside. Let them explore it, sleep in it, eat near it. By the time you actually need to use it, it should feel like a normal part of the environment rather than a threat.
Don't change anything else. Keep their routine as consistent as possible in the lead-up to the stay. New food, a new litter tray, a rearranged room — any of these adds unnecessary stress on top of what's coming.
Consider a pheromone product. Feliway is a synthetic version of the calming pheromone cats naturally produce. It comes as a spray you can apply to bedding or inside the carrier. Not every cat responds to it, but many do, and it's low-effort enough to be worth trying.
Be calm at drop-off. Cats pick up on your emotional state. A fussy, prolonged goodbye does more harm than good. Hand your cat over, give a brief fuss, and leave. The staff will take it from there.
What to Expect When You Pick Them Up
Some cats trot out of the cattery looking entirely unbothered. Others are vocal about their displeasure the whole way home and then spend the next 24 hours either glued to you or pointedly ignoring you. Both are normal.
Give your cat time to resettle at home at their own pace. Keep things calm and familiar, avoid having visitors round on the first day if possible, and let them come to you rather than following them around. Most cats are back to their usual selves within a day or two.
Find a Cattery Near You
PetPortal lists boarding catteries and pet care businesses across the UK. Search by your location to see what's available nearby, read about individual facilities and send a booking request directly through the listing.