Trust Your First Thirty Seconds
Walk in and notice the smell before you notice the decor. A well-run cattery smells clean and faintly of litter and food, not of stale urine and not heavily perfumed to cover something up. Listen next: some calling between cats is normal, but constant yowling, hissing through dividers and dogs barking within earshot all day point to stressed residents. Look at the cats themselves. Cats who are resting in the open, eating, grooming or watching you with soft eyes are settled; cats pressed flat into the back of every unit, pacing the same line, or hiding under bedding with no choice to come out are telling you the environment is harder than the brochure suggests.
Inspect the Unit Your Cat Would Use
Ask to see a typical unit, not only the largest one. It should have solid dividers so neighbouring cats cannot see or paw each other, a separate warm sleeping area, a raised shelf or perch, a scratching surface, and enough floor space to move between tray, food and bed without stepping over any of them. The litter tray should sit well away from food and water bowls. Check latches work, mesh is intact, there are no sharp edges, and the unit is dry and draught-free. For an older or arthritic cat, ask whether a unit without a high jump up to the bed is available.
Look Behind the Scenes
Ask to see where food is prepared and stored, where medicines are kept, and the isolation space for a cat who becomes ill. Food should be labelled by cat, stored off the floor, and prepared on a clean surface away from cleaning chemicals. Cleaning products, spare litter and laundry should live apart from feeding areas. Check how waste leaves the building and whether trays and bowls look genuinely washed rather than rinsed. Ask which veterinary practice they use and how a sick cat would be transported. A cattery that happily opens these doors is showing you its real standards; one that keeps you in reception is showing you something too.
Watch the People, Not Just the Premises
Observe staff with the cats, not with you. A good carer moves slowly, speaks quietly, lets a shy cat stay hidden, and knows each resident's name, appetite and habits without checking a chart. Ask how many staff cover how many cats, whether the same people tend the same cats each day, and what happens overnight. Read the licence and any inspection information on display, and check vaccination records are actually requested at booking rather than waved through at the door.
Decide While the Visit Is Fresh
Write your impressions down the same day, while the smell, the noise level and the staff's manner are still clear in your mind, and compare them with any other cattery you view that week. Small doubts you felt in person rarely shrink later. When a viewing goes well, save that cattery's details so the next booking starts from a place you have already stood in and judged. Finding it again is simple when it came from your shortlist in the KinsLe Pet Services Directory, alongside the other local catteries you viewed and rated yourself.