Cat Boarding Checklist: Vaccines, Medications, and Feeding Notes

Quick answer

A useful cat boarding checklist should let the facility answer six questions without guessing:

1. Has this cat met the facility's health requirements? Send the requested veterinary records early and ask for confirmation that they were accepted.
2. What medication is due next? Give the product, dose, route, time, food instructions, storage needs, and veterinarian-approved response to a refused, vomited, missed, or uncertain dose.
3. What should the cat eat and drink? Pack the usual food in the format the facility accepts and state the measured amount, meal times, preparation, treats, allergies, and appetite baseline.
4. What litter setup is familiar? Record the litter type, normal box habits, and changes that should trigger a call.
5. What helps this cat feel safe? Explain hiding preferences, handling limits, carrier behavior, and the cat's normal level of social contact.
6. Who makes decisions if something changes? Provide reachable contacts, veterinary details, emergency authority, and a local pickup backup.

Start with the boarding environment, not the packing list. A facility may be able to follow a healthy cat's simple routine but not provide the quiet housing, medication timing, appetite monitoring, or medical supervision a particular cat needs.

Decide whether the facility fits your cat

Ask how cats are housed before paying a non-refundable deposit. A calm tour, photographs, or a live video view should help you understand the actual cat area.

Useful questions include:

• Are cats housed in a room separated from barking dogs and busy public areas?
• Can cats avoid direct visual contact with unfamiliar cats?
• Does each enclosure provide a hiding place, comfortable bedding, and enough usable space?
• Is a perch available, especially for stays longer than one night?
• Can food, water, and the litter tray be kept apart?
• How often are appetite, water intake, urine, stool, behavior, and medication recorded?
• Is staff present overnight, and what changes when the facility is unstaffed?
• How are cats moved without creating an escape opportunity?
• What happens if a cat refuses food, cannot be medicated, develops a symptom, or needs veterinary care?

The 2022 ISFM/AAFP Cat Friendly Veterinary Environment Guidelines discuss boarding within feline ward settings. They recommend a quiet, predictable environment, reduced exposure to dogs and unfamiliar cats, hiding opportunities, and separation of bedding, food, water, and litter resources. The guidance does not certify a boarding business, but it gives owners practical features to look for.

A cat who needs insulin, seizure medication at fixed times, assisted feeding, frequent monitoring, injections, or skilled low-stress handling may need veterinary-supervised boarding or an appropriately qualified in-home caregiver. Ask the veterinarian who manages the condition whether the proposed arrangement is suitable.

Get the facility's health rules in writing

Do not assume that "vaccines current" has one universal meaning. Ask the facility to list:

• Every vaccine or health document it requires
• The deadline for submitting records
• Any minimum interval between vaccination and arrival
• What it accepts as proof
• Whether rules differ for kittens, senior cats, long stays, or cats arriving from another area
• Whether parasite treatment, a recent examination, or laboratory testing is required
• What happens if a due date falls during the stay
• Which symptoms or recent exposures prevent admission

Facility policy, local law, a veterinarian's medical recommendation, and a vaccine manufacturer's directions are separate things. Resolve any disagreement before the booking deadline.

The 2024 WSAVA vaccination guidelines describe core vaccination as the foundation of feline protection and recommend that other decisions reflect the individual cat's age, health, lifestyle, location, and exposure risk. The guidelines also discuss the higher-exposure context of boarding catteries. They do not support owners choosing an extra vaccine or booster date on their own.

Send the facility's exact requirements to your veterinary clinic. If a vaccine is overdue, the history is uncertain, or the facility wants a schedule different from the clinic's plan, let the veterinarian decide the medically appropriate next step.

How to Keep Track of Your Pet's Vaccination Schedule can help you build a reliable master record before you submit anything.

Check the actual record, not the reminder

Open every document and verify that it shows what the facility requested. A useful record may need:

• Your cat's full name and identifying details
• Vaccine or antigen names
• Administration dates
• Due or valid-through dates, when provided
• The veterinary practice name and contact details
• Certificate details required by the facility or local rules
• Relevant test results or health documents

A calendar reminder, invoice, or portal screenshot may not prove which product was administered. Send the clinical record or certificate the facility asks for, then request a written acknowledgment that the file is complete.

Keep a copy you can reach while travelling. Do not alter a date, reconstruct a certificate from memory, or represent an appointment reminder as proof that care occurred.

Confirm that staff can follow every medication plan

List every prescription medicine, preventive, supplement, eye or ear product, topical treatment, and as-needed product that may be due during the stay. Ask whether the facility can give that exact product by the prescribed route and on the required schedule.

Clarify:

• Whether staff give tablets, capsules, liquids, topicals, eye drops, ear drops, or injections
• Whether an exact clock time can be met
• Whether the product must be given with food or on an empty stomach
• Whether secure refrigeration or light protection is available
• Whether staff can use the handling method your cat tolerates
• How a completed, refused, partial, vomited, delayed, or uncertain dose is recorded
• Who is called when administration is unsuccessful
• Whether an extra fee or veterinary boarding arrangement applies

Accepting "cats on medication" does not mean the facility can safely handle every schedule. A cat who becomes too frightened to approach may not be a realistic candidate for repeated eye drops or oral dosing by unfamiliar staff. Discuss alternatives with the prescribing veterinary team rather than testing a new administration method during the stay.

Write instructions that survive a shift change

Use the current prescription label and veterinarian's written directions. Create one row for each product:

Avoid "usual amount," "give at night," "mix some into food," or "repeat if needed." Those phrases require the next person to interpret your routine.

The FDA's medication guidance tells owners to confirm the route, amount, timing, food instructions, storage, side effects, and what to do after a missed, spat-out, or vomited dose. The correct response depends on the medication. Never tell boarding staff to automatically repeat a dose or double the next dose.

Keep medicine in its original labeled veterinary or pharmacy container unless the facility and prescribing clinic give different written instructions. Check the label, expiry date, remaining quantity, measuring device, and transport temperature. Do not send loose pills, combine products in an unlabelled container, or pre-fill syringes without professional confirmation that preparation and storage are safe.

If more than one person is packing, use one live checklist. How to Track Care for Multiple Cats Without Mixing Up Doses offers a useful dose-record pattern even when the immediate risk is a home-to-boarding handoff rather than several cats.

Make the feeding plan measurable

Keep the diet familiar unless the veterinarian has directed a change. Boarding already changes the cat's place, smells, sounds, and routine.

Write down:

• The complete food name, variety, texture, and life-stage or therapeutic formula
• The amount offered at each meal in grams, cans, pouches, cups, or another exact unit
• Normal meal times
• How wet, frozen, or refrigerated food should be prepared
• Whether water is mixed into food under veterinary direction
• Approved treats and the daily limit
• Food allergies and ingredients that must be avoided
• Storage requirements
• How much the cat normally eats and how quickly
• The appetite change that requires a call to you or a veterinarian

The 2021 AAHA Nutrition and Weight Management Guidelines support an individualized feeding plan based on nutritional assessment. A boarding stay is not the time to calculate a new amount from a generic chart. Keep the plan aligned with what the cat normally receives and any instructions from the veterinary team.

Ask whether the facility wants individually packed meals or one original container. For pre-portioned meals, use the accepted container type and identify the cat and meal without covering the food's product information. Include only the agreed number of extra meals for a travel delay. For bulk food, include a dedicated measuring tool and an exact amount per meal.

Do not hide medication in every portion unless the prescribing veterinarian and facility agree. A cat who detects the medicine may reject the entire meal, leaving both food intake and dose uncertain.

Define the response to poor appetite before you leave. "She sometimes skips breakfast" is less useful than the cat's actual pattern plus a veterinary threshold for calling. Kittens, cats with diabetes, cats taking certain medicines, and cats with known medical conditions may need a faster or different response than a healthy adult cat.

Write a litter and elimination baseline

Litter habits are part of the health handoff, not a minor housekeeping detail.

Tell the facility:

• The litter type and texture your cat normally uses
• Whether the cat uses a covered or uncovered tray
• Any mobility need, such as a low entrance
• The usual urination and stool pattern
• Whether the cat needs extra privacy before using the box
• Any recent constipation, diarrhea, straining, accidents, blood, or change in frequency
• The specific change that should prompt a call

Ask how trays are positioned relative to food and water, how often output is checked, and whether staff record urine and stool. If the facility allows familiar litter, pack it in a sealed, clearly identified container.

Do not label new straining or repeated empty litter-box visits as stress without veterinary advice. Repeated attempts to urinate, crying in the tray, blood, or little to no urine require prompt veterinary contact. Inability to pass urine is an emergency.

Describe what safety looks like for your cat

"Shy" is not a complete care instruction. Use observable descriptions that help staff reduce pressure and notice change.

Record:

• Where the cat usually hides and how long they may remain hidden around unfamiliar people
• Whether the cat accepts touch, and where touch is unwelcome
• Whether reaching into a carrier or hiding place triggers fear or defensive behavior
• Preferred social contact, play, and quiet times
• Known escape behaviors, including door dashing or pushing past a loose carrier door
• Reactions to dogs, unfamiliar cats, noise, cleaning equipment, and handling
• Normal vocalization, activity, appetite, grooming, and sleep
• Calming routines that do not require force

Ask whether the facility accepts a small washable item carrying the cat's home scent. Do not send a valuable blanket, loose string, ribbon, breakable toy, or any item the facility considers unsafe.

Keep the carrier familiar before the trip. Leave it open at home with comfortable bedding, reward voluntary investigation, and practise brief calm closures and lifts. Do not chase the cat through the house on departure day if earlier preparation can prevent it.

How to Build a Morning Care Routine for Cats That Actually Sticks can help you describe a routine based on what actually happens rather than an idealized schedule.

Make a one-page care sheet

The detailed feeding and medication tables can sit behind one short summary:

Put the cat's name and your phone number on every separate page. If the facility uses an online portal, upload the final packet there and keep an offline copy.

For holiday hours and backup pickup planning, see 4th of July and Long Weekends: Preparing Your Pet for Boarding.

Recheck health before drop-off

Call the facility and veterinary clinic if your cat develops a new or worsening change before arrival, including:

• Sneezing, coughing, or eye or nose discharge
• Vomiting or diarrhea
• Poor appetite
• Marked lethargy or hiding beyond the cat's normal pattern
• Straining or a change in urination
• A wound, rash, hair loss, or parasite concern
• Pain, lameness, weakness, or altered breathing
• A known exposure to an infectious animal

Do not conceal a symptom to preserve the reservation. Ask whether boarding should be postponed, whether the cat needs an examination, and what alternative care is safest.

Seek emergency veterinary care instead of continuing to boarding for difficulty breathing or open-mouth breathing, collapse, unresponsiveness, a seizure, severe trauma, uncontrolled bleeding, blue, gray, or very pale gums, inability to pass urine, suspected poisoning, or a rapidly worsening condition.

What to Keep in a Cat First Aid Kit can help you prepare contact information and transport supplies, but a kit is not a substitute for veterinary care.

Use a read-back at drop-off

Tell the receiving staff member what happened that day:

• Time and amount of the last meal
• Time and amount of the last medication
• Next meal and medication due
• Most recent urine and stool
• Any change in appetite, behavior, mobility, or health
• Food and medication quantities handed over

Ask the staff member to repeat the first meal, medication, and monitoring task they expect to complete. Confirm where the medication will be stored, that the records were accepted, and that the care sheet is attached to the correct booking.

Never treat a scheduled reminder as proof that a task was completed. Record the actual final dose and meal at home so neither you nor the facility repeats it.

Ask for records at pickup

Before leaving, collect:

• The medication administration record
• The last dose given and next dose due
• The feeding record and remaining food
• The urine and stool record
• Notes about hiding, handling, appetite, drinking, grooming, or behavior
• Details of any refused, partial, vomited, delayed, missed, or uncertain medication
• Any symptom, incident, veterinary visit, or known disease exposure
• All original medication containers and remaining supplies

If a dose is uncertain, do not guess or automatically give another. Call the prescribing clinic with the product, schedule, facility record, and what staff observed.

At home, give the cat a quiet room, familiar resources, and time to settle. In a multi-cat home, other cats may react to unfamiliar smells after boarding. Avoid forcing an immediate reunion if there is hissing, staring, chasing, or tension. Contact a veterinarian about a concerning health change rather than assuming it is only stress.

A practical boarding countdown

When comparing facilities

• Inspect the cat environment.
• Check noise, hiding, perching, litter placement, monitoring, and overnight coverage.
• Confirm medication and medical-care limits.

Several weeks before the stay

• Get written admission requirements.
• Send records to the facility and the requirements to your veterinarian.
• Schedule only the care the veterinary team recommends.
• Confirm the carrier and pickup backup.

One week before

• Finish the feeding, medication, litter, and behavior notes.
• Confirm emergency authority and contact numbers.
• Check labels, quantities, expiry dates, and storage needs.
• Ask the facility to acknowledge the final packet.

One to two days before

• Portion food in the accepted format.
• Count medicine and pack the correct measuring devices.
• Recheck the cat's health and normal routine.
• Put the carrier in an easy, secure departure location.

At drop-off

• Record the last meal, dose, urine, and stool.
• Report any new information.
• Use a read-back for the first tasks due.

Pet Care Reminder can hold the record-submission deadline, pre-boarding appointment, refill date, packing tasks, and drop-off time. Assign each item to one person and mark it complete only after it happens. Keep the facility's administration record separate from future reminders.

The simple rule

The best cat boarding packet does more than prove a reservation. It shows that the environment suits the cat and tells each staff member exactly what to do next.

Confirm the facility's rules early, let the veterinary team make medical decisions, preserve medication labels, measure meals, describe litter and behavior baselines, and create a clear emergency handoff. If the facility cannot provide the quiet housing, handling, medication timing, or monitoring your cat needs, choose a different care arrangement before the trip.

Sources

1. 2024 guidelines for the vaccination of dogs and cats – compiled by the Vaccination Guidelines Group (VGG) of the World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA). Formal global guidance on core and non-core feline vaccination, individual risk assessment, and vaccination considerations for boarding catteries.
2. 2022 ISFM/AAFP Cat Friendly Veterinary Environment Guidelines. Peer-reviewed guidelines covering quiet and predictable feline housing, separation from dogs and unfamiliar cats, hiding, perching, handling, monitoring, and separation of food, water, and litter resources.
3. Medications for Your Pet ... Questions for Your Vet. FDA guidance on medication purpose, route, dose, timing, food instructions, storage, side effects, interactions, and product-specific action after a missed, spat-out, or vomited dose.
4. 2021 AAHA Nutrition and Weight Management Guidelines. Formal clinical guidance on nutritional assessment and individualized feeding plans for dogs and cats.
5. Pet First Aid. Official AVMA guidance on recognizing emergencies, seeking prompt veterinary help, avoiding unsafe home treatment, and transporting an ill or injured pet.