Scent is the strongest comfort you can pack
The single most settling item for a cat boarding at a cattery is something that smells of home, because a cat reads the world through scent long before she trusts what she sees. Pack a small blanket she sleeps on or a soft shirt you have worn, and send it unwashed even if it looks scruffy, since laundering removes exactly what makes it work. Ask the cattery to keep that item in her pen for the whole stay rather than rotating it through the wash mid-visit. A cat who can press her face into a familiar smell between meals has an anchor in a building full of strange cats, cleaning scents, and unfamiliar voices.
Her own food, served her own way
Food continuity settles a boarding cat almost as much as scent, so send her usual food measured out for every day of the stay plus a little spare. A sudden diet change in a strange place is a common route to a refused bowl or an upset stomach, and cattery house food, however good, is still a change. Tell the team how she actually eats at home: grazed from a bowl left down, two set meals, wet food warmed slightly, or a puzzle feeder that slows her down. Note any foods she must not be given and treats she reliably accepts, because a staff member armed with her favourite treat has a way in with a cat who is still deciding whether to trust them.
A hiding place and something to scratch
Every boarding cat needs a way to disappear, so confirm the pen includes a hideaway and, if it does not, send a small covered bed or a carrier she already uses as a den at home. A cat who can choose to be unseen settles faster than one permanently on display, and staff who understand hiding as healthy will check on her quietly rather than dragging her out for reassurance. Add a familiar scratch item if the cattery allows it, since scratching is how a cat works off tension and lays her own scent over a new space. One or two small toys she already plays with beat a bag of novelties she has no history with.
Routine notes that read like her real day
Write the cattery a short note describing your cat's actual day, not an idealised one. Say when she eats, when she is most active, whether she likes being stroked or prefers to watch from a shelf, and what spooks her, such as loud doors or being approached from above. Mention how she behaves at the vet and whether she has ever refused food when unsettled, so staff can judge her first quiet day against her normal character. Flag anything the team should watch, like a tendency to drink little when stressed, with clear instructions to call you or your vet if it continues.
What not to send, and when worry is warranted
Leave irreplaceable items at home, because bedding in a working cattery can be soiled, mislaid, or destroyed by a determined cat, and a lost childhood blanket helps nobody. Send copies and spares instead. Some quietness in the first day is normal settling, but a cat who has not eaten at all well into a stay, who hides without emerging at night, or who strains in the litter tray needs the cattery to escalate to a vet rather than wait it out. Agree that threshold before you travel, not from an airport. Handing over these comforts and instructions in one place is what KinsLe's Care Pass does, giving the cattery team temporary clear access to your cat's routine and key details while you are away.