The short answer a cattery will give you at booking
A cattery usually wants written proof, not just your word, that your cat is up to date. The record they ask to see most often is the vaccination certificate or health booklet issued by your veterinarian, showing rabies vaccination where rabies cover is required in your area, and the core feline combination vaccine. That combination is the one recorded with letters that cover feline panleukopenia, viral rhinotracheitis, and calicivirus — the illnesses boarding facilities worry about most because cats from different homes are housed close together, sharing air, staff hands, and cleaning routines.
What matters to the cattery is not only which vaccines are listed, but the dates beside them. Staff will check when each round was given and when the next one falls due, and a cat whose booster lapses during the planned stay can be turned away. Bring the original document or a clear copy the facility can keep on file for that stay.
Why some catteries ask for more than the core record
Policies differ because housing differs. A cattery where cats stay in separate units and never mix may stop at the core record and rabies proof. One with shared play areas, communal grooming, or group time for social cats may also ask whether your cat is covered for feline leukemia, since that virus spreads through close contact between cats. Others add a note about recent flea treatment, not as a vaccine, but because one untreated arrival can make extra work for every unit in the building.
Timing rules are the other surprise for first-time boarders. Many facilities want vaccinations completed a set period before arrival rather than given the day before, so the protection is settled and any short-lived tiredness after a booster has passed before travel. If your cat is a kitten working through a first course, or a rescue adult whose history is patchy, ask the cattery early exactly what they will accept — a started course, a letter from your vet, or a completed course only.
Getting this cat's paperwork ready without a scramble
Start from your vet's record rather than from memory. Check the name on the certificate matches the name you book under, confirm the microchip number if it is printed there, and look at the due dates against your travel dates, not against today. If a booster falls due just before the stay, book the vet visit with time to spare and ask for an updated certificate at that appointment.
Photograph or scan each page as a backup, and keep the paper copy in the carrier pocket you will actually take. If another person will drop your cat off, give them the same packet rather than assuming the cattery already has it from a previous stay — records are often rechecked each visit because a year of validity can pass between holidays.
When the record is missing, incomplete, or confusing
If you cannot find the booklet, call your veterinarian first; practices can usually reissue a summary from the clinical record. For a cat rehomed to you, ask the previous keeper or rescue for whatever history they hold, and tell the cattery honestly where the gaps are. Do not guess dates to fill a form — a wrong date can leave your cat unprotected in a building full of unfamiliar cats and leave you without boarding at the last minute.
If a vaccine is genuinely overdue and your stay is close, contact a veterinarian promptly and tell them the boarding dates; they can advise what can be brought up to date in time for this particular cattery's rules.
One packet for every stay
Keeping the certificate, booster dates, microchip details, and your contact information together turns a repeated booking chore into a quick check, and that is what the Pet Passport in KinsLe does for this cat, holding the records in one portable packet ready for a cattery handoff.