Nekoya’s Design Concept

[First published: 7 Dec 2016, Last updated: 29 Nov 2019]

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“Designed for Cats, by Cat Owners and Cat Lovers.”

The one belief that we based our cat boarding hotel’s foundation on, one of our favourite things to do is show cat parents around our premises. It’s important to us that we help to explain the thought process that we put ourselves through when we designed the Nekoya cat hotel, because that makes for informed decisions and happy guests that we can fully dedicate ourselves to caring for.

After months of speaking to numerous cat owners, experts in cat care and studying boarding standards locally, as well as overseas, here are a list of things that the Nekoya cat hotel employs as part of our holistic cat boarding strategy.

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1. Home Away from Home

First impressions matter, even for cats. The Nekoya cat hotel was designed to look and feel like home, at every single touch point. We did away with cold metal facades and clinical scents that remind of dreaded vet visits, and also employ the use of soothing music and aromatherapy to introduce new guests to our facility. You’ll find pleasant furniture and lighting in our cattery, and multiple points of security that help to buffer noise for an undisturbed, restful stay.

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2. Gorgeous Outdoor View

All 3 outlets – King Albert Park, Central (Kampong Bahru) and Jalan Kayu have windows with beautiful views where our guests can do some people and bird watching. We understand that keeping our guests physically healthy is one thing – Mental health, on the other hand, is just as important and overlooked.

Personal interaction with your cat while you’re away can do one of two things – It can either negatively reinforce their time away from home, or positively reinforce it. A stressed cat will shy away from physical interaction – It could very well be play time (which is meant to be fun), but we can assure your cat will have none of it. In such cases, it is best to leave the cat alone and allow it to destress at its own pace.

To counter this, we wanted to help our guests comfortably engage in some of their favourite past times, such as:

  • Birdwatching
  • People spotting
  • Sunbathing

Just like in the home where there is moderate level of human activity, this keeps your cat engaged and prevents it from feeling like it is in an isolated, new environment. All our windows are also tinted for UV-ray protection, and help to moderate the temperature of our facility so that it isn’t overly warm for our guests.

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3. Intelligently Designed Cat Boarding Facilities

We believe that great design is the backbone of an enjoyable boarding experience. Not only are the Nekoya cat hotel’s cozy cabins the perfect size for your cat while it is boarding with us, they’re also specifically built against a single wall to reduce stress between cats who may be territorial or upset being around other felines.

Picture this – Your cat wouldn’t want to stay in a space where his food bowl was right next to the litter bin, nor sleep next to his food. Cats are clean creatures who love organized territory – Each cat’s territory needs to be exclusive, and this means that its quality is more important than its size. Factoring in all things, each of our cabins is thus built to provide designated resting, feeding and bathroom areas, and can accommodate cats as large and long as 110cm from head to tail.

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4. Appropriately Sized Cabins

We have a total of 3 different sizes of cabins to choose from – Classic, Deluxe and the Premier Suite. The most common size is the Classic cabins, which are available in both our King Albert Park and Central outlet exclusively.

Most humans walk into the Nekoya cat hotel and ask the same thing out of curiosity –

“Is your cabin too small for my cat?”

This is the most common question we’re asked, and we don’t blame you for wondering. But what if we told you that our cabins were intentionally designed to make small spaces work?

As a cat owner, you likely know this scenario all too well. You blow $200 on a cat tree, or a luxurious cat bed for your cat. You bring it home, excited to see how much your cat enjoys it, and then next thing you know, your cat has made a nosedive straightaway for the tiny flat packed cardboard box it came in. Next to it, your beautiful purchase lies unused and untouched. You might as well have not bought it at all.

Here are the facts – Our cats desire small spaces. In the wild, our cats seek out hiding spots that will shield them from predators, as well as prey. You’ll find a cat in the smallest nook and cranny in their home, and especially in a new environment, it is what your cat craves – The smallest space possible for it to decompress and adjust to its foreign surroundings. Just like boxes, our cozy cabins provide security and shelter that a big room just won’t measure up to.

With that being said, if you would like to provide your cat with a larger space, or if you have more than 1 and wish for them to share a cabin, you still have the option of selecting our Deluxe or Premier Suite, which is exclusive to the Jalan Kayu outlet. The Deluxe cabin is deeper than our Classic cabins, and the Premier Suite is twice the size of the Deluxe cabin. We encourage you to visit the hotel to see the cabin sizes in person which will help you in making your decision in which size is best suited for your kitty.

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 5. Experienced Cat Caretakers

As a team whose members collectively own cats, foster cats, and have worked at veterinary clinics, we believe in carefully screening applicants who wish to work at Nekoya, so that we can ensure high standards of care for our staying clients. Our cat whisperers are trained to recognize signs of stress, illness, and other quirks in our guests, and it’s important for any cat boarding hotel to have the right staff on hand who can do the same.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]

6. Stringent Hygiene Standards

We can’t stress the importance of hygiene and cleanliness enough in a cat boarding facility. While Nekoya may look like a home, it certainly isn’t the one your cat truly belongs in. In caring for our guests, we need to ensure that all shared spaces, cabins, floors, doors and more are routinely sanitized to ensure that illness and disease is kept at bay and transmissions between cats are prevented.

Our cat boarding hotel follows key recommendations for hygiene and infection control in veterinary practices. Following the precedent that medical professionals provide, implementation of these measures is important in keeping humans and cats safe while they are in our care. We also take the necessary safety measures to ensure that we can rush guests to safety in the form of trained veterinarians in the vicinity.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]