Yes, the place I mentioned was pretty good about requiring vaccination records. This was also why they had separate areas for the indoor-only cats, because the outdoor cats were more likely to have contact with diseases.
And, as mentioned, they did have smaller rooms for single cats if needed, so if there was a particular concern about one cat, they could keep it separate.
I used them for several trips over the course of about 5-6 years, and never had a problem with the cats getting sick as a result of their visit.
We board our cats every year when we go on vacation. There’s a place in Santa Cruz called Kitty Hill Resort for Cats, and it’s wonderful. The cats get their own “room” complete with cat trees, places to hide, and a full-sized “catio” where they can hang out in the sun. The staff loves cats, and they even take care of medical stuff like injections or administering pills (there’s an extra charge for that, but it’s not bad).
It’s not cheap, but it gives us peace of mind when we’re away. I can call in every day and they’ll give me a report on how the kids are doing. The only thing I wish they had was wi-fi enabled cameras in some of the rooms (again, I’d be willing to pay extra for that) but they’re fairly low-tech so I can’t blame them for not wanting to go to the trouble.
I joke that if Kitty Hill went out of business, I’d never travel with the spouse again. But given the number of indulgent Silicon Valley pet parents, I doubt that will happen anytime soon.
If this was mentioned I apologize because I didn’t see it. Is it possible that the cats could just stay at your house and one of the people you’re trusting to be in your house anyway could be tasked with daily food checks, water freshened, and visit with the cats for 15 minutes if they would be receptive to that.
I know plenty of blue collar guys could use a little extra coin occasionally, and there’s sure to be an animal lover amongst the workers.
With the dollar amounts being spoken about you’d probably still have room in the budget to install a wifi camera in their room and check in on them daily and even speak to them.
Back to this, with apologies. My house remodeling is going into the 4th week. 1 week for us in a hotel and 1 a cruise and 2 an Airb&b and 4 weeks for them in their respective boards. My cats are doing well I am told, I am too much a wreck to visit and then have to leave them again. I have taken dirty clothing I have worn to make beds, and fresh food. But, christ on a stick, 4 weeks!!!
Now I fret (because I am a kitty mom - if you are, you’ll get it) about bringing them home. They won’t give a crap about the new bathroom, but how to reacquaint them to home. I thought maybe keep them inside the first nite (they are indoor/outdoor brats) and then let them do their thing the next morning?? We will still have workmen or maybe a workman for a couple of days, but since we will FINALLY have a toilet and shower, we can live there, AKA, Mamma’s home. Thoughts??
Well, they’ll have been using litter boxes this whole time, so you should be able to set them up with one of those for a day or week until you’re confident they won’t run in horror from your house. (My cats would probably just pee on my bed to show me their opinions about changing up their domicile.)
I’d definitely keep them inside for the first day; maybe longer, depending on how they’re reacting. If the workmen are only going to be around another couple of days, I might well keep them in till the workmen have gone, and the cats have had time to realize that they’re gone; as well as to explore the changes in the house and get comfortable with them.