From the cattery's side, a first stay starts with intake: a set of checks that protects every cat already in the building, not just yours. Understanding what staff are looking for, and why a booking can sit unconfirmed, helps you supply the right records first time instead of trading messages in the week before your holiday.
Vaccination proof: the gate nothing bypasses
The non-negotiable is documented proof that your cat's vaccinations are current, shown as the actual record rather than your assurance. Staff check dates against their own admission policy, which can be stricter than simply being in date, particularly where cats are housed near each other and share airspace. A cat whose booster lapses too close to the stay, or whose record cannot be produced, may be refused at the door even with a confirmed booking, because admitting one under-protected cat risks the health of the whole cattery. If your record is incomplete, the cattery will expect your vet to resolve it and may set a gap between vaccination and arrival.
Identity, vet, and emergency decision-makers
Intake forms record the microchip number, your regular vet's practice details, and an emergency contact, and the emergency contact matters more than owners assume. If your cat becomes ill during the stay, staff need someone reachable who can discuss and authorise veterinary care while you are on a plane or out of signal, not merely a neighbour who feeds plants. Note any recent illness, ongoing conditions, and care the cat is receiving, honestly and in writing; catteries plan staffing and pen placement around disclosures, and an undisclosed contagious risk is the one discovery that can end a stay immediately.
Feeding and care instructions they will ask you to write down
Expect to specify food, amounts, and feeding times, whether your cat may have the cattery's own food or must eat only what you supply, and how litter and any daily care should be handled. Staff ask because cats under their care eat to a written instruction, not to a memory of a doorstep conversation. Behaviour notes are part of the record too: how your cat responds to strangers, whether she can be handled for checks, and what calms her, all help handlers work safely with an animal they have never met.
How staff actually use your records during the stay
The forms do not sit in a drawer. Intake details are transferred to the pen card and feeding chart the daily staff work from: what this cat eats, what must never be substituted, who to call, and what handling is safe. That is why vague entries fail in practice: a note saying she is fussy tells a feeder nothing, while one saying she eats only her own supplied food, warmed slightly, in the evening, prevents a refused meal being misread as illness. Write every field as an instruction a stranger must act on without you.
Why first stays draw more questions than repeat ones
A returning cat arrives with a file: how she ate, settled, and behaved last time. A first-stay cat arrives as paperwork only, so the questions are the substitute for experience. Answer them fully, keep copies of everything submitted, and update the file after the stay with the cattery's own feedback. Presenting those records from KinsLe's Pet Passport at intake lets staff verify vaccination, identity, and contacts from a single packet, and leaves you a ready-made file for every future booking.