A new cat hotel and spa in Mount Laurel offers purrfect getaway for felines

Most cats can make themselves comfortable anywhere. It’s just how they roll.

But when it comes to boarding a beloved feline, humans often have anxieties, expectations, and wish lists.

Local cat owners who seek to elevate their pet’s experience during a weekend getaway or a longer vacation will soon have a fresh option: the Happy Cat Hotel & Spa.

The first Philadelphia-area location of the Connecticut-based franchise is scheduled to open next month in Mount Laurel.

“All of these rooms have a different travel theme, and this is the spa,” said Diane Kane, walking with husband Keith Johnson along the main hallway of their hotel.

Kane, a lawyer, and Johnson, an owner of the Laurel Lanes bowling center in Maple Shade, are renovating a 5,000-square-foot space that formerly housed a title company in an office park on Briggs Road near Route 38.

Their hotel will offer 33 rooms with varied furnishings, colors, and names such as Atlantic City Boardwalk Kitty, Felinedelphia, and Rocky Meowntain Lodge. Prices will start at $59 a day for a standard room; $69 for a deluxe; and $79 for a luxury suite.

“Cat happiness is held in high regard” at the hotel, executive groomer Cat Shemeley said. “It’s where they get to be cats, not just put in a cage, given food, and left alone.”

Kane said a kitty concierge will be on the 10-member staff, along with groomers skilled in services such as blow-dries, plush trims, and de-shedding treatments.

Only cats from the same household will be allowed to share rooms; cats from different households will not mix. Individual cats will go on walks with staff.

“We don’t want any cat fights,” said Kane, adding that the animals will have daily “enrichment” interactions with staff and will be able to watch each other through interior windows.

Each guest room also will have a window with outdoor views, and Cat TV, featuring a loop of bird and squirrel videos, will be available for a fee.

As for dining options, Johnson said owners will provide the same food their cats enjoy at home. Existing medications will be administered by trained staff.

A Grandview Research study projects that the $8.63 billion global pet boarding market of 2024 will grow by more than 8% by 2030, and noted that cats are increasingly popular as pets worldwide.

Kane and Johnson said they became interested in opening a cats-only facility after friends and acquaintances expressed frustration at the difficulty of finding such options. Cats can detect the presence of dogs elsewhere in a facility, she said.

And despite the cliché that people spend most of their online time watching cat videos, dogs — with their big smiles and bigger personalities — tend to dominate American culture. There are nearly 90 million pet dogs and 74 million pet cats in America, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association.

Demand for cats-only facilities also may be lower because some cats can be left alone for a day or two as long as they have access to food, water, and a litter box.

But such arrangements simply aren’t an option for many cats and their owners, said Chris Raimo, founder and CEO of Happy Cat Franchising in Windsor, Conn.

“We opened our Happy Cat Hotels & Spas flagship in 2014,” he said. “We can’t lay claim to inventing the concept. But we invented the way we are doing it.”

The company has seven hotels operating and three in development.

“We go where the passionate cat people are: Atlanta, Austin, Albuquerque,” Raimo said.

The facilities “are so quiet and tranquil — like a library,” he said, adding “we work very hard to understand feline behavior. We don’t just put them in a room. We work really hard to build their trust.”