What Makes Pet Camp Cat Safari Different?

The other week we received an email from a Cat Safari pet parent that included this: 

“Is there any chance there are discounts we can receive for their next stay? We have been using another boarding service due to the high cost at Pet Camp, but we truly prefer Pet Camp.” 

To be candid, I knew what I wanted to say right away. I just wasn’t sure how to say it. 

We know Pet Camp Cat Safari is not the cheapest option. We know there are other places where you can board your cat for less money. We know pet care is expensive, life is expensive, and no one is out there looking for new ways to spend more money. 

But we are not the cheapest for a reason. 

And, respectfully, those reasons are probably the same reasons you prefer Pet Camp. 

We built Cat Safari for cats. 

Not as an afterthought. Not as a converted room in a dog boarding facility. Not as a few cages tucked away somewhere quiet. Not as a “we also take cats” add-on to something designed for dogs. 

We started from the ground up and built something specifically for cats. 

Cats are not small dogs. Cats do not experience boarding the way dogs do. Cats do not want barking, chaos, and constant commotion. Cats need calm. They need security. They need places to perch, hide, explore, and observe. They need people who understand that a cat sitting quietly in the back of their space may not be “fine” – they may be stressed, cautious, or simply waiting to decide if we are worthy of their trust. 

That is what Cat Safari was designed around. 

A cat-only facility? Yes. 

Negative air pressure to help reduce the spread of airborne contaminants? Yes. 

Spacious cat condos and opportunities for activity, enrichment, and exploration? Yes. 

Trained pet care professionals who understand cats? Yes. 

Systems, checklists, procedures, and redundancies to support health and safety? Yes.

A team that notices whether your cat is eating, drinking, using the litter box, interacting, hiding, or acting differently than they did the last time they stayed with us? Yes. 

All of those things cost money. 

The facility costs money. The equipment costs money. The staffing costs money. Training costs money. Cleaning protocols cost money. Maintenance costs money. Having enough people to do the job properly costs money. Building systems that protect pets, instead of just hoping everything goes well, costs money. 

And that is the tension. 

The same things that make Pet Camp more expensive are the things that make Pet Camp Pet Camp. 

We never want to be casual about cost. We understand that every pet parent has a budget. We understand that for families with multiple pets the cost of care adds up quickly. We also understand that sometimes people need to make different choices, and we do not take that personally.  Actually, that’s a lie, 29-years into it and I still take everything about Pet Camp personally. 

But we also cannot pretend that all pet care is the same. 

It isn’t. 

There is a difference between a place that accepts cats and a place that was built for cats. 

There is a difference between someone “checking on” your cat and a trained team caring for your cat. 

There is a difference between a quiet cat room and a true cat-only facility. 

There is a difference between hoping someone remembers what matters and having systems in place to make sure they do. 

Cheaper generally means less is being provided. Less space. Less staffing. Less training. Less oversight. Less enrichment. Less infrastructure. Less backup when something does not go as planned. 

We are not interested in providing less. 

That does not mean we are perfect. We are not. We make mistakes. We have things to improve. We are always looking at how to do better for pets and their people. 

But our goal has never been to be the cheapest. 

Our goal has been to be the place where cat parents can leave town and feel, as much as possible, that their cat is safe, cared for, watched over, respected, and understood. 

So when someone says, “We have been using another boarding service due to the high cost at Pet Camp, but we truly prefer Pet Camp,” we hear both parts of that sentence. 

We hear that cost matters. 

And we hear that care matters. 

We wish we could make the first part easier. But we will not compromise the second part to do it. 

Because the truth is, we are not the cheapest. 

We are Pet Camp Cat Safari. 

And that means something.

Thanks for reading.

Pet Camp has been providing award winning pet care in San Francisco for almost 30 years.  With 3 family owned and operated locations in San Francisco, Pet Camp offers overnight care for dogs and cats, dog day care, dog training, bathing/grooming services and pet transportation.  If you are a San Francisco pet parent with questions about care for your dog or cat, give us a call and speak with one of our counselors.