Moritz – A Visitor From Laramie

This is Moritz’s first visit to Happy Cat Retreat.  His owner is travelling to Mexico.

Moritz  settled right in.  He was a little shy at first but then he came around.

Guess it's time to get up.

He likes to come out for play time.  He stretches his legs — then locates the catnip on the scratching post.

Moritz’s owner asked if she could check on him via email which she did yesterday.  We at Happy Cat know how important their cats are — they are just like kids.

Moritz - Catnip and scratching time

Cali & Copper First Time Visitors

Cali & Copper

Cali and Copper arrived for an extended stay on Nov. 19 and are here until Dec. 1.  Their owner, Sara is a grad student at CSU and went home to the west coast over the Thanksgiving holiday.  Here’s a typical morning for Cali and Copper enjoying their morning nap.  .

Cali

Cali is a 5 1/2 year old female and is very outgoing.  When I stsrt feeding in the morning I let both of these cats out first into our open area.  Cali immediately jumps down and goes from cage to cage greeting the other cats.  She’s very friendly.

Copper

Copper is a 4 year old male.  He’s a little more reserved than Cali.  Here’s he is wondering why I woke him up from his nap.

Poppy, a Maine Coon multicolored cat, has been coming to Happy Cat Retreat since 2007 at just 4
months old. She likes to climb as we have different levels in the new building.

Poppy

Poppy is a real character. Her owner says she loves to come to Happy Cat. After this visit
(Nov. 2 to Nov. 8 ’11) Poppy will return Nov. 18 and have a longer stay. Her owners are going to London and Spain. Wish I could go there but they always tell me I have to stay
and watch the cats. Anyway, I don’t think Poppy will mind even if its for a longer stay.

Winnie (as his owner likes to call him) started coming to Happy Cat Retreat in Sept. 2010.

Winston (Winnie)

He is 11 years old and is diabetic. Winston is a sweetie. He likes to sit on my lap
on the couch downstairs and lets me pet him while he purrs away. Same for my husband, Stan.

He’s also good about taking his insulin. We look forward to having Winston each
time he comes. The owner says he’s so glad he found Happy Cat. So are we.

Separation Anxiety

Pets may suffer emotional stress when their owners leave whether they’re left at home or placed in a boarding kennel.

Afternoon Sun

Any pet in strange surroundings may suffer from stress.
This means that his or her normal immune process is affected, as well as their eating and digestive habits. Happy Cat Retreat will do everything possible to minimize the
effects of stress on your cat. For this reason, it is a good procedure for you to allow your cat(s) to adjust to the kennel environment at their own rate.

Stress is a Factor

You, as the owner, can help minimize the effects of stress by trying to make the boarding experience as pleasant as possible for your cat. The more often your cat boards, the
more adjusted he or she will be to the kennel environment, and the easier the boarding process becomes. Therefore, several short periods of boarding prior to a lengthy
vacation will probably do more to help your cat adjust to boarding than anything else.

Please keep in mind that cats react much differently in a strange environment than do dogs. Cats are instinctively solitary animals. They do not run in packs as dogs do.
Therefore, when confronted with strange surroundings, a cat’s normal response is to withdraw physically and mentally into a protected state.

You Can Help

For this reason, cats enjoy the “protected” feeling they get from being caged while in the kennel. Your cat will probably want to sit in the corner of his condo and stare,
until he feels comfortable in the new environment. Human contact does not normally accelerate this period of acclimatizing. It has to take place at the cat’s own speed.
We encourage you to brung in a blanket with his smells on it as well as some of his favorite toys.

Happy Cat provides spacious indoor condos with solid laminate partitions between each condo for safety, privacy, and peace and quiet. Your cat can relax without feeling
challenged by his or her neighbors.

Our experience has been that most cats adjust very well in 2 days or less.  Usually the first day, they don’t eat very much, but after that they relax and start to enjoy
their stay.  We monitor their litter box to ensure that it is being used and that they are getting hydrated.

If your cat has special medication needs, we can accommodate most situations.

Call us while you’re away and we’ll be happy to give you a progress report.

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Your House or Ours?

Fort Collins/Loveland Area

(If you live outside this area, please contact us and we will be happy to refer you to a professional pet sitter in your area.)

See the maps below for our preferred service area.

We will be happy to come to your home and pet sit per your specified instructions. However, we prefer homes within a 5 – 10 mile radius. The rate for pet sitting is $12 for one visit, second visit is $6. Will sit cat(s) and/or dog(s) giving 30 – 45 minutes of loving attention twice a day – early morning and late afternoon-evening based on your preferences.

If you have a dog as part of your pet family, there will be an additional charge to walk your dog on a leash. We can walk your dog if it is friendly.

Happy Cat agrees to feed, water, clean litter box, and give special attention and playtime to our feline friend(s). and/or dog. We will also water plants, pick up mail, put out garbage or any other duties you would like done. At the same time we are checking to make sure everything is safe at home. Call us and we’ll tell you how your pets are doing to put your mind at ease.

Happy Cat Retreat is a member of Pet Sitters International

Member of Pet Sitters International

Fort Collins Pet Sitting Service Area

Loveland Pet Sitting Service Area

Kato the cat, got to go home from Happy Cat on Oct. 26, 2011.  He had been here for over two weeks while his owners vacationed in Hawaii and California.

Kato

Kato is a handsome cat which I tell him all the time. He has been coming to Happy Cat since August of 2004.

When he was picked up he was not a happy camper, and let his owners know.  Cats are funny, sometimes they pout just to show their owners their independence.  However, Kato always lets you know he is in charge.  When we have play time three times a day, he returns to his condo on his own terms.  Secretly, I think he likes it here so we just play these games.

I need to ask Joan his owner how she came up with the name Kato.

Here are the directions to get to Happy Cat Retreat in Fort Collins.  If you have any questions, call 970-266-1555 and we will be happy to direct you.

Estes Park to Happy Cat Retreat