Cattery Software: A 2026 Buyer's Guide for Cat Boarding

KKBy Kashif Nazir Khan, Founder of Pupline

Updated June 21, 2026·10 min read

Share

Most boarding software is built for dogs and bolts cats on as an afterthought. A cattery has its own shape: pens and condos instead of runs, longer average stays, household-grouped multi-cat bookings, FVRCP rather than DHPP, and clients who judge you on a calm, quiet, photo-friendly environment. Cattery software is simply boarding software that fits that shape without making you fight a dog-first design.

This guide covers what cattery software actually does, the features that matter for cat boarding, free versus paid, what it costs, and how to choose, for a single-location cattery or a cat wing inside a wider boarding business.

What does cattery software do?

At its core it replaces the paper booking diary, the wall whiteboard and the shoebox of vaccination cards with one system that:

• Takes and tracks boarding bookings by check-in and check-out date.
• Maps each booking to a specific pen, condo or chalet and stops you double-booking it across overlapping nights.
• Holds cat and owner records: feeding routine, medication, vet, behaviour notes.
• Tracks vaccination status (FVRCP and rabies) and warns you before an expiry.
• Bills per night and turns a finished stay into a branded invoice.
• Sends booking confirmations and photo updates that owners love.

The features that actually matter for a cattery

Anything that forces you to think in "runs" and "yards" or assumes group play is a dog-first product wearing a cat label.

How a cattery differs from a dog kennel (and why the software should too)

Cat boarding is not just dog boarding with smaller animals. The operational shape is different, and the software has to match it:

A cattery's longer, overlapping stays make date-range capacity the feature that prevents the most expensive mistake: promising a pen you have already let for those nights. If a tool tracks capacity as a simple daily headcount, it will let you overbook a holiday week.

Free vs paid cattery software

Free options are real but limited: a spreadsheet, a generic calendar, or the free tier of a pet-business app. They work at very low volume but break down exactly where a cattery needs help, double-booking a pen, missing a lapsed vaccination, or losing a night off an invoice.

Paid software earns its keep once you are juggling more than a handful of pens or any overlapping stays. The features above, especially date-range capacity and vaccination expiry warnings, prevent the mistakes that cost real money and reputation.

What does cattery software cost?

Pricing models vary, and the model matters more than the sticker:

• Per pet or per booking: the bill climbs with every cat you board, so success is penalised.
• Per location or per run: predictable but often priced for large multi-site operators.
• Per staff seat: a flat price regardless of how many cats you board.

For a single-location cattery, a flat or per-seat price usually beats a per-pet platform, because your bill does not grow every time the building fills. Pupline Facilities is one predictable price with every facility feature included and no per-pet or per-night fees.

How to choose

1. Confirm it treats cats as a first-class case, pens/condos, FVRCP tracking and household grouping, not a dog product with a relabel.
2. Check the capacity model is date-range based, not a daily headcount, since cat stays overlap and run long.
3. Look at the pricing model, not just the price, a per-pet fee punishes a full house.
4. Make sure vaccination expiry warnings exist, this is the compliance failure that gets catteries in trouble.
5. Try it on your phone, drop-off, check-in and billing should take seconds, not a desktop session.

Running a cattery on Pupline

Pupline runs a cattery from a phone the same way it runs a boarding kennel: name your pens, condos and rooms and assign each stay to one, with an occupancy board that blocks double-booked units across overlapping nights. Take bookings online, check cats in and out in a tap, keep owner and cat records with vaccination tracking that warns you before FVRCP or rabies lapses, send report cards with the photos owners want, and let per-night billing count the nights and produce a branded invoice, with no cut of your revenue. For the dog side of the same product, see the dog boarding software buyer's guide, and if you are opening a facility, how to start a boarding kennel.

Frequently asked questions

What is cattery software?

Cattery software is a booking and management system built for cat boarding. It tracks bookings by date, maps each stay to a specific pen or condo and prevents double-booking, holds cat and owner records, tracks FVRCP and rabies vaccinations with expiry warnings, bills per night, and sends confirmations and photo updates. Good cattery software treats cats as a first-class case rather than bolting them onto a dog-first product.

Is there free cattery software?

Yes, but it is limited. A spreadsheet, a generic calendar or the free tier of a pet-business app can work at very low volume, but they tend to fail exactly where a cattery needs help: preventing double-booked pens across overlapping dates, flagging lapsed vaccinations, and getting every night onto the invoice. Paid software pays off once you have more than a handful of pens or any overlapping stays.

How much does cattery software cost?

It depends heavily on the pricing model. Per-pet or per-booking pricing climbs as you board more cats; per-location pricing is often aimed at large operators; a flat or per-staff-seat price stays the same no matter how full you are. For a single-location cattery, a flat or per-seat plan usually works out cheaper than a per-pet platform because your bill does not grow with occupancy.

Can I use dog boarding software for a cattery?

Often yes, if it is genuinely species-neutral. The key things to check are that it handles pens or condos (not just dog runs), tracks cat vaccinations like FVRCP rather than only DHPP, supports multi-cat household bookings, and uses date-range capacity since cat stays run long and overlap. Pupline runs catteries and dog kennels on the same facility product.

What vaccinations does cattery software need to track?

For cats, the core requirements are FVRCP (feline viral rhinotracheitis, calicivirus and panleukopenia) and rabies, and some catteries also ask for FeLV depending on policy and local rules. The software should store each cat's vaccination status and warn you before an expiry so you catch a lapse before drop-off, not after.