Start with the cattery, not the suitcase
Visit the cattery before you book, ideally at a busy time, and look at the things your cat will actually experience: the size and cleanliness of the units, whether cats can see each other, how much hiding space each unit has, and how the staff handle a nervous arrival. Ask how feeding, cleaning and health checks run each day and what happens overnight. A good cattery expects these questions and answers them plainly. Book once you are satisfied, because popular dates fill early and a rushed choice made under time pressure is the commonest cause of a bad first stay.
Sort the paperwork and health steps early
Catteries require proof that vaccinations are up to date, and many ask for flea and worming protection to be current too. Check what yours requires several weeks ahead, not days, because a lapsed vaccination cannot always be put right at the last minute and may mean the stay cannot go ahead. Note down your own veterinarian's details, any ongoing health issues, what your cat eats and how much, and your emergency contact arrangements while you are away. If your cat takes any regular care you manage at home, describe it in plain writing for the staff rather than assuming the label on a container explains itself.
Prepare the cat, not just the file
Get the carrier out at home well before the stay and let it become a normal sleeping spot, so departure day does not begin with a frightening chase. Keep feeding times, play and the household routine steady in the final week; cats read disruption quickly, and a calm, ordinary run-up is itself preparation. Pack her usual food in full — a sudden diet change in a strange place is a reliable route to a refused bowl or an upset stomach — plus bedding that smells of home, a familiar toy, and anything she reliably hides in or under when the world feels loud.
Use a short stay to learn before a long one
If the calendar allows, book a single night or a weekend before the main stay. You learn how your cat eats, settles and behaves on return, and she learns that the cattery is a place she comes home from, which changes how a longer stay feels to her. Tell the staff it is her first stay and ask them to note how she settled, hid, ate and used the litter tray. That first-stay report is gold: it tells you whether to adjust her bedding, food presentation or unit position next time.
The handover on the day
Arrive unhurried, settle her into the unit yourself if the cattery allows it, place her familiar bedding where she can retreat into it, and leave without a long emotional goodbye — a calm, ordinary departure is kinder than a dramatic one. Confirm how and when you will receive updates and who decides about veterinary care if she becomes unwell. To make sure none of her routine depends on your memory on a busy departure morning, a KinsLe Care Pass hands the cattery her feeding, comforts and handling notes in one temporary, clear summary.