If you have dogs, you most certainly have had the need to send them to doggie day care at one time or another, dropping them off in the morning and picking them up in the afternoon. Many dogs love this regular field trip to interact with other dogs and let’s face it, most dogs love going places. Cats and dogs are as different as night and day, and a day care environment for just a few hours is definitely where their needs couldn’t be more contrary.
Visit any walking trail and you are sure to see dogs greet each other, generally with friendly encounters. Cats….um, not so much. I would never recommend introducing your cat to a cat from another household for a casual encounter such as a day care environment. In fact, we have a strict policy at my feline exclusive boarding resort that protects your cat from any physical contact with any cats not living in their own household. Of course, your cat will see other cats and even if they can’t see them, they’ll instinctually know there are other cats around.
While dogs tend to settle in to new spaces fairly quickly, cats often need several hours, or even over night, to settle in to a new environment. For boarding guests who come to us for the first time, our process is to give them time to settle in over night before we let them explore outside of their Chalet. Return guests, however, settle in rather quickly and are ready to enjoy socializing with staff immediately and want to leave their Chalet to walk around their Village.
Getting to know as many cats as I have over the years, professionally as well as personally, I do not recommend cats be put in a day care type environment where you leave them for only a few hours. Although over the course of the years, we have welcomed many cats to join us for the day when there is some unusual activity going on at home, such as carpets being cleaned, home repairs, the moving process, etc. Your cat will certainly much rather be in our calm resort environment for the day instead of dealing with unusual activity that will disrupt their relaxation. During times such as this, it is also extremely risky that your cat might escape through a door left open by a repair or moving person. So, we welcome your feline family members to visit us at The Cat Chalet for a day visit when the need arises. If you live outside of the Reno/Sparks area, search for a feline exclusive resort close to you.
(PHOTO: JuJu recently joined us for the day while some home repairs were completed)