A first cattery stay runs on information the staff can use at the pen door: what is normal for her, what is being watched, and whom to call. Her vet visit summaries carry most of that, but only if the cattery can actually see them and only if nothing time-sensitive hides inside them while you are away.
Give the Cattery the Summaries That Matter
Your file needs, for each practice she attends, the newest summary, recording why she went, what the vet found, what remains pending, and when she is next due in. Send the cattery the newest summary in advance rather than handing over paper at a busy drop-off, and ask the staff to confirm that the copy arrived and is attached to her booking.
Draw the staff's attention to anything pending in plain words on a short cover note: what the item is, when it arose, and whether it needs action during the stay or simply watching. Cattery staff care for many cats at once, and a pending item buried in a long summary is an item that gets missed. The cover note is what turns a filed summary into a used one.
Check Dates Against the Stay Before You Book
Compare her next appointment with the stay dates before you confirm the booking. If the appointment falls during the stay, tell the cattery and your vet, and agree in advance who does what: the appointment moves, the cattery transports her, or the vet confirms the check can safely wait until she is home. What must not happen is the date passing mid-stay with each side assuming the other had noticed it.
Get the cattery's agreed terms confirmed in writing before the stay, covering the booking dates, the daily rate, drop-off and collection times, and what happens if your return is delayed. Add your vet's phone number and your own emergency contact to the same cover note, so the summary, the pending items, and the people to call all sit in one place the staff can reach in seconds.
Tell the cattery, in the same cover note, what the summaries mean for daily care at the pen: anything she is watched for should come with the observable sign, not just a label. Write, for example, what the staff would actually see if a pending item needs attention, and what you want done in that order: note it, phone you, or phone her vet directly. Staff act fastest on instructions written as actions. A summary that says only what a vet concluded months ago leaves the person standing at the pen door to improvise, and improvisation is what the paperwork exists to prevent. If the cattery asks for details on its own form as well, complete that form from your summaries rather than from memory at the desk on the day.
After the Stay, Close the Loop
When you collect her, ask whether anything was noticed: appetite changes, litter changes, or any sign the staff watched more closely. If the cattery took her to a vet, or your vet saw her soon after, request that summary and file it at the front with the others, noting that it arose during the stay.
Review the pending list once she is home and strike off anything the stay resolved, so the file the next carer sees is current rather than layered with finished business. Her stay-ready summaries sit inside Pet Passport behind one clear cover note, and KinsLe keeps that packet ready to share again whenever she boards.