Pre-arrival
Review the known baseline
Diagnosis, medication, diet, appetite, mobility, behavior, elimination, stress patterns, and veterinary contacts are reviewed before the stay.
Medical and special-needs cat boarding
Care organized around stability.
Some cats need more than a room, meals, and a clean litter box. They need medication fluency, appetite awareness, timing, whole-cat observation, and a team that can recognize small changes before they become larger concerns.
Medication-aware careAppetite and hydration observationDiabetic supportSenior and fragile catsVeterinary coordination when needed
Boarding requests, availability, current rates, and care approval are managed by Cats in the City.
Task + contextMedication is interpreted alongside food, handling tolerance, stress, and recovery.
Sellwood routingHigher-acuity and diabetic requests are reviewed for the Sellwood location.
Care framework
Medical boarding is not simply giving medication.
The team asks how the cat is doing around the medication, food, environment, transition, and handling.
Intake
Establish arrival presentation
Posture, alertness, respiratory effort, movement, orientation, stress level, and ability to settle provide the first in-person baseline.
Daily picture
Track patterns across systems
Food interest, water interest, litter output, comfort, mobility, breathing, grooming, behavior, and response to care are observed together.
Medication
Verify timing and tolerance
The prescribed schedule, delivery method, food relationship, handling response, and recovery are documented within the boarding plan.
Thresholds
Respond when patterns change
Appetite, elimination, respiratory effort, glucose, mobility, or behavior changes can trigger added observation, guardian contact, or veterinary escalation.
Coordination
Keep communication usable
Clear documentation helps guardians, the boarding team, and veterinary professionals share the same picture when decisions are needed.
Common support profiles
Conditions overlap. The plan must still fit the whole cat.
A diagnosis does not automatically determine eligibility, location, or care intensity. Current stability and the practical care burden matter.
Endocrine
Diabetes
Insulin support, appetite awareness, glucose-informed decisions, and hypo-prevention priorities.
Open page →Renal
Kidney disease
Diet continuity, hydration awareness, litter observation, appetite tracking, and mobility context.
Open page →Respiratory
Asthma
Low-stress handling, clean-air priorities, respiratory observation, and prescribed inhaler support when approved.
Open page →Senior
Multisystem aging
Medication, mobility, appetite, litter access, sensory change, and recovery may all need a slower care rhythm.
Open page →Appetite
Transition-related food refusal
Early pattern tracking, familiar food strategy, hydration awareness, and escalation before prolonged anorexia.
Open page →Sensory
Blind or deaf cats
Stable room layout, predictable approach, visual or scent cues, and reduced startle within private territory.
Open page →Mobility
Arthritis or weakness
Short routes, stable surfaces, accessible litter, low climbing demands, and observation of effort or hesitation.
Open page →Complex
Overlapping needs
The care plan is built around interactions among diagnoses, medication, food, handling, and transition—not one label.
Open page →
A medically complex cat still needs private territory, environmental choice, and a room that supports rest.
Location routing
Sellwood carries the highest medical boarding capacity.
Diabetic cats, higher-frequency observation, and complex or less stable medical profiles are generally routed to Sellwood. On-campus residential support makes overnight escalation pathways possible.
Mt Tabor may be appropriate for stable medication or special-needs routines when monitoring frequency and current presentation fit that location’s capacity. All care is approved case by case.
Care boundary: Portland Cat Boarding and Cats in the City provide boarding, observation, medication support, and guardian/veterinary coordination. Boarding does not replace diagnosis, emergency care, or treatment by a licensed veterinarian. Every medical boarding request is reviewed for fit and current stability.
Care boundary: Portland Cat Boarding and Cats in the City provide boarding, observation, medication support, and guardian/veterinary coordination. Boarding does not replace diagnosis, emergency care, or treatment by a licensed veterinarian. Every medical boarding request is reviewed for fit and current stability.
Request review before planning around acceptance.
Medical boarding is confirmed only after Cats in the City reviews the cat’s present stability, care burden, dates, location capacity, and escalation plan.
Expanded special-needs guidance
Search the condition that changes the care plan.
The Phase 3 library connects disease, disability, mobility, medication, appetite, behavior, recovery, and emergency planning back to the medical boarding review.
Search
Condition library
Find the guide matching the strongest medical or functional signal.
Search the libraryAppetite
TSA and appetite support
Explore early food refusal, monitoring, hydration, and supported-feeding pathways.
Open TSA guidanceCase
Vanta diabetic boarding case
See how glucose, intake, behavior, safe insulin use, and withholds were documented.
Open the case