Melbourne

On pickup her the bottom of her carrier was saturated with urine that didn't smell fresh and there was some fresh poo in there too. The poo could likely have happened on the way home but I could smell the strong ammonia of ripe wee the moment she was carried out.

Wondering if she was waiting zipped into the carrier since the morning and then there was a delay because of a flat tire, but since it smelled a few days old at least, perhaps she was so stressed out during her stay that she repeatedly urinated in there because it smelled familiar. (Possible because there was a cat with dementia there repeatedly meowing.)

I commented on it but was in a rush to get her home. On getting home and actually checking there was so much in there, enough for it to be from repeated urinations as multiple layers of blankets and cloth nappies on top of the puppy pads were soaked through, and she'd dug everything up to pee through to the bottom of the carrier.

I was also really clear about avoiding fragrance and gave them unscented detergent to use if she soiled her things, but she's come home with spots on her fur smelling like perfume (which often rubs off the wrists of female vet staff while handling them).

She was also pretty hungry when she came home, going straight to the fresh biscuits put out and then demolishing a can and half of the 85g tins. Was she not getting frequent wet food and having to rely on dry, and was she struggling with that?

The owner talked about her staying in her carrier and only popping her head out to say hi, and mentioned the vet students were the one doing all her care. It's possible she was stressed out and hiding in her carrier for that time and because she's shut down and 'good' they didn't really check in on her? The place was extremely busy.

This cattery had really good reviews and I had got a good feeling when I talked to the owner in detail before sending her there...

Am I being unreasonable if I ask what's up? Ugh. I don't want to torpedo good relations as this place came recommended by her normal vet and the owner seemed really knowledgable about cats needs... It just feels like seeing your kid come home from childcare in a soaked nappy that they've sat in all day.

It worries me that Melbcat could have been in distress for that week but tends to be very quiet and 'good' when scared and maybe they were so busy they didn't notice what was going on. I need a place that's sensitive to her needs when I'm sick and can't be there.

Maybe I shouldn't have left her there for the entire time. Maybe I should have got her after a day or two instead of allowing her to stay to let her get used to it 😔