Your Nose Reports Before Your Eyes Do
A working cattery smells of clean bedding and litter handled promptly; a stale, sharp smell of old urine hanging in the building means trays and units are not being cleaned as often as they should be, no matter what the brochure says. Look past a freshly sprayed entrance and check the air deep inside the cat accommodation, and glance at trays as you pass: several units with overflowing trays at a normal hour of the day describe the real cleaning rota. Check water bowls too — empty, slimy, or tipped bowls in multiple units at visiting time tell you how often anyone actually walks the rows with attention.
Units That Squeeze, Expose, or Offer Nowhere to Hide
The unit your cat is shown matters more than the best unit in the building, so insist on seeing the standard accommodation cats actually get. Warning signs include space too small for a cat to move away from her own tray, bare units with no shelf, scratch post, or hide, and barriers so open that neighbouring cats stare at each other all day, which stresses even easy-going guests. Ask whether cats from different households ever share; they should not. A cat with nowhere to hide in her unit has nowhere to recover from the stress of the stay, and a cattery that sees nothing wrong with that will miss subtler welfare problems too.
Staff Who Cannot Answer Ordinary Questions
Ask the questions a competent cattery answers without blinking: how many times a day are units cleaned and trays checked, who is here overnight and how often are cats looked in on, what happens if a cat stops eating, and which vet do you use? Vague, irritated, or contradictory answers are themselves the finding. So is a refusal to show you the accommodation at all, or a tour limited to a polished reception while the sleeping areas stay off limits. Good staff talk about their cats by name as you walk round and can tell you which current guest is shy, which is greedy, and which needs her food warmed.
Paperwork Laxness That Puts Every Guest at Risk
A cattery that does not ask for proof of vaccination, your vet's details, and an emergency contact is not being friendly and flexible — it is admitting every other cat on the same basis, including unvaccinated ones, into the building yours will share. Treat it as a red flag if nobody asks about your cat's health, diet, temperament, or how she handles strangers, because those questions are how a cattery plans her care. The same applies at booking: if taking your dates and payment is the entire conversation, with no interest in the cat herself, expect the stay to be run with the same level of attention.
Read the Residents, Then Trust Your Own Unease
Walk the rows slowly and read the cats. In a well-run cattery most residents are resting, grooming, watching the world, or eating; an occasional shy cat in a hide is normal. A building full of cats who are frozen flat, pacing the same route, or crying continuously is a building where stress is the background condition. Finally, respect the unease you cannot itemise — the evasiveness, the atmosphere, the sense of being hurried past things — because owners who override it often describe the same feeling after a bad stay. There is always another option: KinsLe's Pet Services Directory gathers trusted local pet businesses in one place, so you can connect with a cattery whose visit leaves you reassured instead of doubtful.