Hotels are meow accommodating cats

By now, we’re all accustomed to people taking their dogs everywhere they go. But cats? Cats usually stay at home. But more and more people are traveling with their cats and plenty of hotels are accommodating them.

“We have the necessities when you’re traveling with a cat,” said Mark Hayes, manager of the Kimpton Aertson Hotel in Nashville. “A litter box comes with the room as well as a little bed for them and we put out some bowls for food and water. We don’t necessarily supply food but we’re happy to source anything locally. We know that cats can be pretty finicky with their diets, we kind of let the guests guide us in what they need. We also have toys available.”

Housekeeping will even scoop the litter box for you.

A lot of big, chain hotels allow pets, including cats, to stay for a fee, but all Kimpton hotels welcome pets for free. Literally any pet.

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“We’ve had pot belly pigs, we’ve had goats, we’ve hosted penguins. Granted, no one has a penguin as a pet, [they were] from a zoo. But the cat program started as, ‘let’s just have a littler box because people are moving.’ But then we noticed people had cats in strollers and on leashes so we thought there was a little more opportunity to expand and to have the toys available for them. As well as a little more comfortable bed even though a cat would just opt for a shoe box.”

And if your cat goes for walks on a leash…

“Our concierge has a little pet recommendation, pet friendly businesses in the area, as well as places they can walk. We also have cat cafes and some other boutique pet stores within the neighborhood. The best name that I’ve seen is Mewsic Kitty Cafe.”

Hayes says he sees about one cat a month in his hotel, which is a lot considering he never saw a single traveling cat before a handful of years ago. He says it’s usually people moving cross country, driving with a pet, but sometimes people bring them along on vacation.

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“There is no charge, no deposit. We basically ask the guest to leave their contact information when they’re out and about in case their pet experiences a little anxiety.”

If you travel with your dog, hotels are really getting fancy. A fair number of upscale hotels will cook your dog a meal and send it up with room service, take your dog on a walk or get it a bath. All for a fee, of course.

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