Boarding kennels and catteries vary enormously in welfare quality — stress during owner absence is a real and manageable welfare concern for companion animals.
Boarding stress is a real welfare concern that owners often underestimate. Social animals separated from their humans and placed in novel environments with unfamiliar smells, sounds, and animals experience genuine anxiety. The welfare impact varies enormously by individual temperament, boarding facility quality, and care protocols. High-quality facilities with regular exercise, social interaction, and attentive staff produce substantially better welfare outcomes than kennels focused solely on containment. For highly anxious animals, home-based care from a trusted pet sitter is often the welfare-superior option.