Boarding kennels and catteries cause significant stress for many companion animals, and the welfare quality of temporary housing varies enormously between providers.
Boarding represents an acute welfare challenge for companion animals: sudden removal from familiar environments and people, placement in novel spaces with unfamiliar animals, and absence of their primary social bonds. Well-managed facilities that provide individual attention, exercise, enrichment, and familiar scents can significantly reduce stress. Poorly managed facilities that keep animals in bare kennels with inadequate social contact create welfare failures. The variation between providers is enormous, and owners often lack good information on which to base choices. Pre-boarding familiarisation visits, choice of facilities with demonstrated welfare practices, and provision of home-scented items all contribute to better boarding welfare outcomes.