A first cattery stay involves two unknowns: your cat has never been boarded, and the cattery has never met either of you. The paperwork is how the staff close that gap. Preparing it before you book, rather than the night before drop-off, is what turns a first stay from an anxious scramble into a straightforward handover.
Start with the call that defines the list
Ring the cattery and ask exactly what it requires for a first stay, then write the answers down. Most will want proof that vaccinations are current, and some set their own conditions on how recently boosters must have been given or which additional cover they expect for cats mixing in a shared facility. Ask also about parasite prevention, whether they administer ongoing care, what they need in writing about diet, and who they contact, and in what order, if your cat becomes unwell. A good cattery welcomes these questions from a first-time owner; evasive answers are information too.
The documents to assemble in advance
Gather the vaccination record, the microchip number, your regular vet's details, and an emergency contact who can actually make decisions if you are unreachable abroad. Add a written care sheet in your own words: what and when your cat eats, litter preferences, known health issues under monitoring, and temperament notes that help strangers handle her well, such as needing a hideaway box, disliking being lifted, or being unsettled by neighbouring cats. If anything on the vaccination record is close to expiring during the stay dates, resolve it with your vet before the booking is confirmed.
Prepare the cat, not just the file
Paperwork goes further when the cat arrives calm. Let her use the travel carrier at home beforehand with bedding that smells of the house, and consider leaving a worn item of your clothing for the pen if the cattery allows it. For a nervous first-timer, ask whether a short trial stay is possible before a long booking, and be honest about behaviours like spraying, night calling, or food refusal under stress, since staff plan better with the truth than with surprises.
Questions whose answers reveal how the cattery runs
While gathering paperwork, learn the operational facts that sit behind it: which veterinary practice the cattery uses in an emergency, how cats showing signs of illness are separated, whether staff are on site overnight, and how feeding and ongoing care are logged during the stay. These answers shape what your own notes need to contain. If the cattery logs care carefully, your written instructions will be followed literally, so phrase amounts and timings exactly as you mean them rather than relying on staff to interpret a casual note.
On drop-off day, hand over one complete set
Arrive with the documents together, walk the staff through the care sheet rather than simply leaving it, and confirm the phone number you will be reachable on during the trip. Keep copies of everything you handed over, and update your notes afterwards with anything the cattery reports about how your cat ate, slept, and settled, because that report becomes the starting point for the next stay. Having the whole first-stay set already ordered in KinsLe's Pet Passport means repeat bookings reuse a proven packet, refreshed rather than rebuilt each time.