Not all boarding facilities are equipped to handle guests (feline or otherwise) with health issues. Because we’re owned by and attached to a veterinarian’s office, the staff at the cats-only boarding facility is trained to do some unusual things. We administer oral medications (pills and liquids), topical medications (like creams applied to the inside of the ear), injections (like insulin for diabetic kitties), and even subcutaneous fluids (for guests who are dehydrated).
But sometimes, we get a guest with a serious health issue that could possibly be contagious to other guests. We work very hard to ensure that the ill guest is comfortable and well cared-for, but also that the disease does not get passed on to our other boarders.
It can mean jumping through a lot of hoops.
We’ve had a few guests who came in with ringworm — a highly contagious fungus that can be passed between pets and humans. Gross! Cats with ringworm are kept alone in an isolation ward (there are certain circumstances where more than one cat will be boarded in the same isolation room). The staff wears gloves and a protective coat when cleaning, feeding, and interacting with the cat, because ringworm spores can cling to skin and clothes. The spores can live in the environment for more than a year, too, infecting another animal long after the first one has moved on.
After leaving the ringworm isolation room, shoes are disinfected with bleach to kill any spores that may have been picked up. Gloves are discarded; bedding and dishes are washed with bleach.
We have a page-long list of instructions for safely working with cats with ringworm, but those are the highlights. It’s a lot of extra effort, but it’s worth it to ensure that the fungus does not spread.
Some upper respiratory diseases can be contagious — and deadly — to pets. So when a guest shows signs of upper respiratory problems, we often keep them isolated from other guests. If the veterinarian suspects that the sick cat has a contagious and/or serious upper respiratory disease, we take precautions like: wearing gloves when handling the cat, keeping the sick cat’s bedding and other belongings from touching other guests’ belongings, and even changing our scrubs after working with the sick cat.
Cleaning is a big part of our daily work at the cats-only boarding facility, and it becomes even more important when we have a sick guest. Sterilizing work surfaces, washing hands frequently, using hand sanitizer, washing bedding in hot water to kill bacteria, and more all help keep our healthy guests healthy and our sick guests comfortable as they heal.