Catch Up, Rover 🐾

Last month, Business Insider reported that Rover is “discovering” cat care – just weeks after announcing its acquisition of Meowtel. All of this comes barely two years after Blackstone acquired Rover for a casual $2.3 billion. 

Our reaction? What took you so long? 

(And yes, before you say it, it does feel like it took me longer to finish this blog than it did for Rover to discover cats.) 

We’ve Been Here Before 

While Rover (founded 2011) and Meowtel (founded 2015) are just leaning into feline care, Pet Camp Cat Safari has been all-in on cats since 2007. 

That wasn’t an accident – and it definitely wasn’t the obvious move at the time. 

When we opened a cat-only facility nearly two decades ago, plenty of people in the industry thought it was… let’s say, “ambitious.” Translation: They laughed. A lot. 

But we believed something simple that the broader market is only now catching up to: If you design care specifically for cats, hire people who truly understand them, and give them an environment built for their instincts – cats don’t just tolerate care… they thrive. 

So, What Makes Cat Safari Different?

Let’s start with the obvious: 

No dogs. None. Zero.
(Not even visiting privileges.) 

From there, it gets more interesting: 

• Cat-first philosophy 
  Cats aren’t low-maintenance dogs. They require a different – and often higher – level of care. Yes, they value solitude. But they also need structured enrichment, stimulation, and interaction designed specifically for them.  

• Built-for-cats environment 
  Everything is intentional. From our Safari Solarium to climbing walls to custom enrichment tools, we create opportunities for mostly indoor, urban cats to explore, move, and engage in ways they simply can’t at home.  

• Enrichment that actually means something 
  This isn’t “wave a feather and call it a day.” We develop experiences that tap into natural feline behaviors – climbing, stalking, observing, and problem-solving.  

• Pet parent connection 
  We bring clients into the experience with things like Camper Cameos and yes, the occasional Pi-Cat-So Mas-purr-piece (because your cat is an artist – you just didn’t know it yet).  

• Still no dogs 
  Worth repeating.  

Technology vs. Experience 

Look, we’ll be the first to admit it: 

Rover has better tech.
Rover has more funding.
Rover has, well… Blackstone. 

And if someone shows up with a $2.3 billion check for Pet Camp, we’ll happily have that conversation (we’re practical, not sentimental). 

But here’s the difference: 

• They have scale.  

• We have decades of experience.  

Nearly 30 years of caring for pets.
Almost 20 years focused exclusively on cats at Cat Safari. 

That’s not something you acquire (even for $2.3 billion). That’s something you build – day by day, cat by cat. 

The Bottom Line 

If the choice is between better technology and better cat care? 

We’ll take cat care. Every time. 

And we have a feeling that our cats – and their humans – wouldn’t have it any other way. 

Thanks for reading and for all the purrs.
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Pet Camp has been providing award winning care for San Francisco’s dogs and cats for almost 30 years.  If you are a San Francisco Bay Area pet parent in need of overnight care for your dog or cat, dog training, dog day care, bathing or transportation give us a call and chat with a counselor.