Suspect Boarding Kennel

[blackpanther]

Hello,

I am new here today; this is my question:

I recently boarded my 5 year old DSH neutered male cat 'Dave' at a boarding kennel in my city, a few weeks ago. I had used this kennel in the past when away travelling, etc., and felt the business was solid and provided good care for my dear Dave....up until this last episode. My spidey senses have definitely been tingling since I picked Dave up the last time.....here is the story:

The kennel/boarding facility is situated inner city, which is so convenient because I also live in the inner city....all other boarding 'cat only' facilities are situated on acreages outside the city limits. I had used this boarding facility in the past, and thought the woman who runs the business gives very good care of the cats. She accepts about 10 cats at a time, and she has all of the cages situated in an extension to her residential home. The kennel area is separated from her household by a folding door - that is it. When I went to pick Dave up after this last trip of mine, he wasn't in his cage when I arrived - which was no big deal since her allowing the cats outside of their cages daily was a bonus selling feature to me - but, Dave was no where to be found within the kennel area, and in fact, the woman (proprietor) looked at me with a puzzled look on her face when I arrived and inquired as to the location of my Dave. She went and found him in the residential area of her home, and this was disturbing in and of itself since she has a pet dog who is regularly in the main residential area of her home! She went and found Dave for me after she figured out which cat I was there to pick up, but in the meantime, there was another one of the boarded cats loose in the kennel area, and that cat lashed out at her, as she was walking by....should a cat that bites be out loose when my cat is out loose???? Then, to make matters worse, she had just accepted a new cat that afternoon, and that cat was going 'postal' in it's cage when I was there to pick Dave up...it was charging the cage door, had pooped all over it's cage, and was huddled in the back of it's cage in fright (this is understandable for a male tom cat that has never been boarded previously, but). The proprietor finally found my cat in the main area of her house, brought him out, but it was basically a chaotic environment all in all. The PO'd new cat, the vacuum going by another staff member, the losse aggressive cat, telephones ringing, confusion as to which cat was mine, etc.!!!!

My question: could I have caught her on an extremely chaotic and unordinary day? Or, was what I experienced evidence of a poorly run kennel/boarding facility????? My Dave has been inseparable from me since I brought him home, so I am thinking he had an overall bad experience. Advice? Comments? Dave is a very independant cat, but since I brought him home, he seems unusually attached to me....I love that, but it makes me wonder if he was traumatized at this boarding kennel? Should two stranger cats be let out of their cages at a time? Should the boarded cat have access to the residential portion of her home? If there is a dog in the home, should there be any chance taken on their coming into contact with one another? Isn't it strange that she didn't know where my cat was when I came to pick him up? I had given her an hour and a half warning that I was coming to get Dave! Shouldn't there be a separate area for new cats that may be highly stressed? i.e., the stressed tom cat? Is it strange that my baby Dave is showing signs of overly affectionate behaviour when he wasn't like that before my trip?

Thoughts?

[kiara]

I am really lucky that my family lives in the neighborhood and when we are away they look after my house and cats. Cats are very sensitive to change and maybe you could find a caring friend or a neighbor that could look after him. You may be overreacting to the situation, ask around if people generally had good experiences at this kennel? I am glad you did not give out their name!

[mummummum]

Probably the only way you will know whether you caught her on a bad day would be to check all her references and see what other customers have said about her services.