ensuring a smooth boarding experience

We need to understand and accept that cat are unlike dogs. While they enjoy exploring or may even enjoy walks, our cute feline do not simply get on a harness and go on an adventure. They first need to survey their surroundings, establish a territory then start exploring once they have identified a safe territory they can fall back to.

This same behaviour applies for when they go to a cat hotel for boarding which is a new place for them. How do we replicate and speed up this process?
 

Establishing a safe area: The first thing a cat needs to do when in a new place is to establish a safe area. This is crucial as it is the space in which the cat will determine is the safest for them where should there be any trouble, it is where they can retreat to and hide or defend themselves.

In a cat hotel, that would usually be their rooms therefore it is crucial that the first introduction to the room is as calm and pleasant as possible. Having sufficient hiding spots is a great option but to make it even better would be to have familiar scent (be it yours as the owner or it's own scent) around the hiding spots.   

Therefore at PopCats Hotel Singapore, we designed Play Suites that have big enough floor space to hold your own cat litterbox, your cat's favorite cat bed and even cat scratcher. All these will give off enough familiar scent which will help speed up the process of familiarizing and establishing said safe area.

Our Play Rooms are whilst not as big are designed with verticality in mind which enables us to have 3 tiers with a cute little house on top for the cat to hide.

 

Understanding exploration patterns: After establishing that safe area, that is when your cat will start to get curious to expand their territory and have an adventure!

Over at PopCats Hotel, we replicate the same experience during interaction and play time especially for cats that are new to boarding or new to our hotel. Once they settle down, we take the approach of letting the cat explore by their own terms. Some cats do better with encouragement from the humans whilst some do better when being left alone. 

We do that by, keeping their room doors open whilst always being within the view of the cats but never blocking their doors so they know that they can come and also run back in whenever they need to.

Our cat hotel is also a good 1200square feet long which we kept one huge section free of cat rooms, thus creating a safe haven that enables your cat to explore without being stalked by other cat's presence or gaze.

This also simulates the zone by zone exploration pattern that cats have.

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No forced interaction and movements: In line with letting your cats explore at their own space, we keep watch of them and will never force an interaction or moving between the different zones that they established (yes this includes their room). Also one of the main reasons why our Play Suites are created with enough space and verticality that they can still move around actively when in the room but more importantly we are also able to interact with your cats while they are inside their room.

No doubt it is a slower approach, however it is surely a more comfortable and more pleasant experience for your cat's boarding.
 

Positive Association: To enrich the interaction time with your cat, we at PopCats also encourage owners to bring their favorite toy, snacks which can be utilized during their time outside and create a positive experience for them.

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Our aim at PopCats is to provide the best cat boarding experience for your feline babies as well as a peace of mind for fellow travel enthusiasts!