oarding feline family units can be tricky. Some kitties are soulmates, others have a love-hate relationship and then there are those that will quarrel if they are in the same room. When you have a new feline family at your boarding facility, it is difficult to know how they will act during their stay with you. This can make it tricky to book their spaces and give the owner an estimated cost for their cats’ stay.
The first thing to consider when entertaining the idea of boarding a feline family together is the size and setup of your cat enclosures. While many of us dream of having a walk-in room with plenty of levels and hiding places for each feline unit, this is simply not the reality for most of us. If your facility has smaller and more basic enclosures, fewer felines will be able to be boarded in each unit. Taking into account the size and layout of your feline boarding enclosures will be the starting point to establishing how your business handles boarding feline family groups together.
When a feline family is a cohesive, loving group, it is obvious that the best boarding situation will be to board the family together. When boarding a family together, charging a smaller fee for each additional cat after the first cat is charged full price makes sense. When the kitties are in one space, there is only one litter box to clean, one bowl of water to maintain, one set of food dishes and one area to sanitize after the stay. When you have a loving family unit, there is less work for your staff. In this situation, charging your flat rate for the enclosure plus a smaller additional fee per cat keeps your clients happy and makes you the most profit while being easiest on your staff.
The other scenarios are more complicated. When cats are scared and confused, they tend to either hide or lash out. Some kitties that the owners think may have issues being boarded in the same enclosure may actually do better when they are together. If the aggressor in the feline family drama hides when scared, the others may snuggle up to that kitty which will comfort everyone. On the other hand, if the aggressor lashes out when scared, it may be too dangerous to keep that cat in the same enclosure as their siblings for both the safety of the other cats and your staff. These scenarios make me carefully word my estimate for a first-boarding stay to assure the business is profitable while the owners feel like they are getting a fair price for boarding.
Obviously when you have a family in multiple enclosures, they are occupying space that now cannot be used by another boarder. You are also using multiple litter boxes, food and water services, and will need to sanitize another full set of items after the stay. These are the reasons why I am very careful about how I word the estimate for a feline family’s first boarding visit.
When the cats cannot stay in the same enclosure, knowing how to price the stay can be a delicate matter. Clearly, the price needs to be higher than adding one cat to an enclosure with the other family members. My recommendation is to charge the first enclosure at your normal rate then your second enclosure at operating costs. If your company has an aggressive cat fee and the cat that was separated is being aggressive, I would also charge the owners your aggressive fee. That fee is for the extra skills and training your staff must possess in order to deal with the difficult felines, plus the cost of safety gear to assure your staff’s safety.
If you offer playtime in a different space, sometimes feline siblings that could not get along in the same enclosure are happy to interact in a larger space. If siblings are able to be cordial to each other and enjoy this add-on service together, I would provide it at the same rate as a family in one enclosure. However, if your facility decides the cats can’t be together, try scheduling one cat or the group of cats that get along in the play area first, then the aggressor. This may bring some peace to your boarding space. Stacking the family members back to back in the play area will allow for one sanitation of the area which would only increase the time the area was not available for another boarder. When your facility stacks playtime back to back, you may consider charging for just one playtime session, or charging a reduced rate for the second session.
Making the choice to board a feline family in the same enclosure can be tricky, especially for a new business. But having your pricing structure in place and making the family aware of any additional charges up front are very important. Offering a reduced rate for additional cats can be a great perk for clients, but remember to protect your bottom line when setting these discounts.