Start with temperament, not facilities
A cat who has never left home does not need the grandest cattery; she needs the calmest one. On a visit, judge the noise level, the smell, and whether each cat has somewhere to hide inside the unit, such as a box, a shelf with a blanket over it, or an igloo bed. Ask whether dogs are housed in a separate building, whether she would see neighbouring cats face to face, and how the staff handle a frightened newcomer who will not eat on day one. For a homebody, a quiet unit with a hiding place beats a large glass-fronted suite where she feels watched from every angle.
Test the stay before you need it
Book a single night, or even a daytime stay if the cattery allows it, well before the real trip, so her first experience of boarding is short and ends with home. Send the blanket she sleeps on unwashed, her usual food measured into portions, and one worn item of your clothing, because familiar smell does more for a first-timer than any toy. A good cattery welcomes a trial, asks detailed questions about her routine, and reports honestly how she ate and settled, and that trial tells you more than any brochure about whether she can cope there.
Ask how they handle the specific first-timer problems
Put direct questions to the staff: what happens if she hides and refuses food for a day, how do they tempt her, and when would they call you or a vet? How are litter, appetite and behaviour recorded, and will you get a daily update with a photo? Check that units are cleaned without moving her into a strange pen, that heating keeps the sleeping area cosy, and that someone is on site overnight or checking late and early. Facilities that answer these questions in detail, without defensiveness, are the ones used to anxious cats and their anxious owners.
Consider the at-home alternative honestly
For a cat who has truly never left home, a trusted sitter visiting or staying in your house may suit her far better than any cattery, because her territory, smells and hiding places stay exactly as she knows them. Weigh that against the cattery's supervision: a home-alone cat gets company in visits, while a boarded cat gets continuous professional oversight. If she is young, healthy and deeply territorial, home sitting often wins; if she needs daily health checks or gets distressed by strangers in the house, a quiet, experienced cattery may be the safer choice after all.
Pack her routine as carefully as her food
Whichever you choose, write down her feeding times, the exact words you use at meals, where she likes to be left alone, and the hiding behaviour that is normal for her, so carers do not panic at habits you recognise instantly. Include her vet's contact and what to do if she stops eating. Trust your trial-night evidence over your own guilt: a cat who ate, used the tray and slept there once can almost always do it again. Sharing that whole routine through KinsLe Care Pass gives her temporary carer clear access to everything that makes her feel at home, wherever she is staying.