Cat sitting, cattery or kennels: which suits your cat?

If you're going away, your cat can stay at home with a sitter visiting, go to a cattery, or go to kennels that board cats as well as dogs. Here is how they compare.

The three options side by side

What	Home cat sitting	Cattery	Kennels
Where your cat stays	At home	A pen or room at the cattery	A pen at a site that also boards dogs
Routine	Same bed, food and litter tray	New space and new people	New space, new people, dog noise
Company	Visits of about 30 minutes, once or twice a day	Staff on site	Staff on site
Cats from the same home	Stay together	Ask whether they can share	Ask whether they can share
Updates while you're away	Ask the sitter (we send a photo after every visit)	Ask the cattery	Ask the kennels
Keys	The sitter holds a key	None needed	None needed

Home cat sitting

A sitter comes to your home once or twice a day. They feed your cat, change the water and litter, give any medication, and spend time with them. Your cat keeps their own bed, food and routine, and cats from the same home stay together.

With us, a visit lasts about 30 minutes. One visit a day is £11, and two visits a day is £20, for one or two cats. From the third cat it's £2 more per cat per visit. A week costs £77 with one visit a day or £140 with two.

The catch is that your cat is alone between visits, and someone else has a key to your home. Meet the sitter before you book, ask to see their DBS certificate and insurance, and ask how they look after keys. Very young kittens, or cats that need watching through the day, may need more than visits can give.

Catteries

A cattery boards only cats. Your cat has a pen or small room, usually apart from other cats, and staff feed and clean them on site. Prices are usually per day and vary a lot, so ask a few catteries near you for a quote.

A cattery can make sense for a long trip, or when you'd rather not hand over a key. Some cats settle in a new place and some don't. A cattery that lets you visit beforehand will give you a good idea of which yours might be.

Kennels

Some kennels that board dogs take cats too. They can be close by or cheaper, but your cat may hear and smell dogs all day. If you choose kennels, ask whether the cats are housed away from the dogs.

Which to choose

Home sitting usually suits cats that like their routine, nervous cats, older cats, cats on simple medication and homes with more than one cat. A cattery may suit a confident cat, a long trip, or a cat that needs someone nearby all day. If your cat has a health condition, ask your vet.

Try home sitting with us

We visit cats around Shortlands, Beckenham and Bromley. Before you book, we come round for a free meet-and-greet to meet your cat and learn their routine. After every visit you get a photo and a report card on WhatsApp.