Top Cat Vacation Destinations

Image via 1Funny.com

Cat owners everywhere face the same question during the holidays: Do I leave my pet with a sitter or in a kennel? This year, why not consider taking a vacation with your kitty? Not only is it possible, there are actually destinations that cater to furry friends—and we’ve rounded up the best of ‘em below.

Before you book, brush up on the best ways to make your cat comfy during the trip and run your plans by your vet. If you’re leaving the country, you’ll also need a pet passport. Bon Voyage!

Image via Cunard

1. The Queen Mary 2

The Cunard cruise line’s pet-friendly practices date back to 1840, when three cats crossed the ocean aboard the Britannia. These days, felines make the transatlantic voyage (from New York to Southampton, England and vice versa) in style on the storied Queen Mary 2. Overseen by a special Kennel Master, cats bed down in a spacious kennel and play area (with an ocean view!), and you can visit as often as you like. Among the perks: fresh-baked biscuits at bedtime, comfy beds with fleece blankets and an assortment of cat posts and scratchers. Oh and they also throw in a free portrait of you and your feline, as well as a QM2-logoed pet coat and name tag.

Image via Kimpton Hotels

2. Kimpton Hotels

For those looking to stay stateside, Kimpton Hotels —which boasts more than 60 boutique hotels around the United States—offers serious VIP (or, er, VIC) treatment to visiting cats. Your kitty will be greeted by name (respect is due, after all) and sit pretty in your room on a plush bed (cat scratchers are also at the ready). In the evenings, you can attend a complimentary wine reception together. And after the party, your feline can further unwind with an in-room pet massage.

3. Hotel Monteleone, New Orleans

Image via Hotel Monteleone

This historic French Quarter retreatreally rolls out the red carpet for cats. Ask for “Monte’s Pet Package,”  which provides monogrammed food and water bowls, a toy, a bag of gourmet treats, and even entire pet-friendly floors, where your kitty can “meow” it up with other feline tourists.

4. Catskill, New York

Image via Postcard Collector

Get it? Catskill? But, trust us: This upstate New York enclave takes its cat worship seriously. Every year, the community hosts the Cat-N-Around Catskill festival. The town’s main street is lined with artist renderings of felines, which are later auctioned off at a Cat’s Meow Gala.

5. The James Hotel, Chicago

Image via The James Hotel

Something to purr about! The real draw at this Magnificent Mile outpost—beyond the organic pet beds—is top chef David Burke’s special in-room feline menu, which includes poached salmon, grilled chicken paillard with liver snaps, and a salmon tartare tower.

6. The Best Little Cat House, California

Image via The Best Little Cat House

If you’re in the Burbank, Los Angeles, or Pasadena area consider letting your pet lap up attention and make new pals (see photo above) at a Best Little Cat House location. The chain bills itself as a luxurious “cat hotel” and the kitties have the run of the place, lounging cage-free in playrooms with themes such as “English Gardens,” “Tuscany,” and “Africa” while you watch the ensuing hijinks from a web cam.

7. Cat Island, Japan

Image via Petsetter.com

The small Japanese island Tashirojima is known as “Cat Island,” thanks to its large amount of strays (there’s more cats than humans) and a local belief that the felines bring “wealth and good fortune.”  The island’s robust kitty population spends their days sunning and feasting on tasty scraps from local fisherman; human accommodations include seriously adorable cat-shaped houses. Best Part? No dogs allowed!