CDTraveler

We're heading to Disney this December, and taking the furboys with us. They're good travelers, but lousy stay-at-homers: both need a lot of attention every day, and they don't do too well with the cat sitter. I also am concerned about leaving them alone in winter and when we'll be away from home 14 days - they get a little rowdy on their own and I fear for my couch.

However, the timeshare property where we're staying part of the time doesn't allow pets, which means we can't have them with us for that part of the trip.

Anyone here have experience with cat hotels in/near Orlando? I'm considering A Pet's Palace.


[timeshare was a gift, I'd have picked a place that welcomed pets, but one can't always be choosy]

jennj99738

I'm not from Orlando so can't comment on the quality but Disney just opened a brand new pet care facility called Best Friends. Seems very nice from the website:

http://wdw.bestfriendspetcare.com/

CDTraveler

Yikes! For the Disney kennel prices, I could just get them their own room at La Quinta.

kipper

I agree. I looked at their dog boarding prices, and wow!

jennj99738

It's Disney, the happiest place on Earth! I'd actually highly recommend La Quinta. I practically lived at one for 3 weeks with my dog and they were great with him and no pet fee.

I checked into PetSmart Petshotel, which I've also used, but strangely they don't have any in the Orlando area. If all else fails, I would find a local vet who offers boarding year your timeshare. That may be fairly economical.

Penny

We were just in Orlando and passed the Best Friends kennel a few times. Actually, I believe it is a franchise because there are a number of them around the US; we have two here in southeastern PA. The prices are quite high, IMHO. I like to pamper my cat, but he does not need a bedtime story

Anyway, the Orlando location is fully booked for the holidays. I have a friend who was planning on using them but did not call early enough. It seems that a number of local folks use them as well.

My cat does very well at our vet's. They know and love him because he was a scrawny rescue when he was first brought there and now he is the picture of feline health. They charge $16 a day, which seems to be the ballpark figure around here. They do charge extra for any meds they may need to take and for a pre-departure bath, extra grooming, etc. It has worked well for us on several trips. Many vets can kennel cats because they do not take up much space.

kipper

We use the PetSmart Petshotel by us when we need to board the kibblers. It's about a 45 minute to hour drive in each direction, but they seem to love it, I like that there's someone there all night, I'm comfortable that Cobaka won't be able to pull her Houdini act and escape, and I like that I can schedule them for all day play. When we pick them up, they're usually happy to see us, but annoyed if we interrupt their play time, and when we get home, they both usually sleep the rest of the day, telling me that they were able to burn off lots of energy by playing.

CDTraveler

The fur boys will be staying at A Pet Palace's, just south of Orlando. Between Philly and MCO we'll all 4 be at La Quintas - we have gold status! I was actually tempted to book them in at LQ in Orlando for the week for the sake of points () if it weren't for the litter box issue, but the Pet Palace rates are pretty reasonable for cats.

I'll report back after the trip.

And if you see a Passat Wagon heading down I-95 with two orange cats in the back window, wave!

CDTraveler

Today we dropped in for a surprise visit at A Pet's Palace to see our boys. I have to give the place high marks - every litter box was clean, all the cats had clean water and food, and nobody in the cat room seemed unhappy. Our two were thrilled with the 30 minute visit, but they're real people cats, and miss having constant company.

We did hear quite a bit of barking while we were visiting, but hey, that's a doggy thing to do, right?

The "cat condos" are very spacious 4 level structures - think a single wide closet with 3 shelves, to make 4 levels total. Litter box bottom level, food on the second floor, sleeping box 3rd level and then a "rooftop terrace" for those who like the high life.

Oh, and they got their pictures taken with Santa Paws.

CDTraveler

If you need to board a cat in the Orlando area, my furboys give A Pet's Palace the four paws up rating. When we went to pick them up from their week there, we had to wake the boys up from their naps - both were out of the cages, snoozing in sunny perches on the cat tree. They, and their cages, were clean, and the cats seemed calm and content.

We only had one slight problem, and the boys didn't think it was a problem at all. There was a little miscommunication on their canned food rations, and they got double their usual portions all week. This gave rise to a new phrase: "resort rations" which is what they are now hoping for at breakfast every day.