I just picked up my cat today from a long weekend of boarding. This was my first time boarding with Bihari Kennels, and I chose it based on a recommendation from my vet. Given this recommendation, I was surprised to find several areas lacking in the service, which I had previously experienced as regular aspects of boarding and pet sitting services I have used in the past.
Before boarding, I was already skeptical of the services as there was no intake form with information about my cat's health, her vet, or an emergency contact while I was away. The only information was the hand-written information about her feeding that was on a small intake card. Luckily I had already provided information about my vet, but at this point I wonder if that is even a part of the regular intake procedure.
I also found it odd that I did not receive any updates about my cat while I was away, as that was the common practice of previous boarding facilities and pet sitters I have used.
When I arrived at the boarding facility to pick her up, I was nervous that something was wrong, because two people who arrived after me were able to pick up their dogs before I received my cat. When I asked if everything was okay, the person at the counter said that there was only one kennel manager and I would be helped next. I replied that I was asking because I was there before everyone else but had yet to be helped.
I received my cat's items first, and was surprised to see that almost all of her canned food was unused. I brought 14 cans, and 11 cans were returned to me. She should have had 1-2 extra cans, but this indicated to me that either she had not been fed the proper amount, or she was seriously off her food. When I asked about it, the person working at the counter became defensive and said that of course my cat was fed while she was here. I said I was sure that was the case, but I did not know why she was not fed the food I had provided. Luckily someone came in from the back to explain that she was off her food, and they had provided food from the kennel. When things like this have happened with previous boarding facilities, they always called to update me on my pet's health, and to ask if it was okay to feed her a different food.
When I finally received my cat, I asked if they had any kind of behavior or health report that they could share with me from her stay. This was a common practice at other boarding facilities and with other pet sitters I have used. Again, I was told, in a somewhat hurried and defensive tone, that there was only one kennel manager and that they didn't know.
After I paid and signed the store copy of the receipt, I waited for my copy of the receipt but the person at the counter had left. After several minutes, she returned and asked what I was still doing there. I replied I was waiting for my receipt. After finally getting my copy of the receipt, I realized it had taken 45 minutes to pick up my cat from the boarding facility. Of course this is not about me, but about my cat, who had by then been waiting in her crate for quite some time, and she was ready to get home.
When I returned home, I brushed my cat and found litter throughout her fur. This made me wonder about the cleanliness of the facilities.
Given all of these issues, I will no longer be using any services of Bihari Kennels and I will not recommend their services to anyone else. I will also let my vet know about the subpar experience we had, and I will ask them to reconsider their recommendation of this kennel service. read more