If you are going on a long vacation, extended business trip or are ill and can't properly take care of your beloved pet, a pet motel may be a good choice for you to house your pet. These specialised boarding places accept cats and dogs for lodging, and offer a variety of amenities.

First-time pet motel users can benefit from the answers provided to the most commonly asked questions about this service:

Is There a Vaccination Requirement? - Most pet motels do require that your dog or cat have had specific shots in order to protect the health of other pets as well as the staff of the pet motel. When you contact the pet motel, you can ask what specific shots are required, but in general the list includes rabies, distemper, parvovirus, hepatitis and calicivirus. These are all known as core vaccines for cats and dogs, which is why most pet motels require your pet to have these shots.

Can One Bring A Pet's Food From Home? -- Yes, nearly all pet motels allow you to bring your pet's favourite food from home during its stay. In fact, if your pet has special dietary needs, it's imperative that you inform the staff of exactly what those needs are so that your pet doesn't miss an important vitamin or supplement, and to ensure that your pet is fed the proper number of times each day.

Do keep in mind, however, that if you don't provide enough food for your pet's length of stay, that the pet motel reserves the right to use its own in-house food, which may or may not match the food your pet eats at home.

Do You Have A Minimum Age Requirement For Boarding Pets? -- Every pet motel has a minimum age requirement to board a dog or cat, and typically, that age follows the vaccine chart of your dog or cat. Most dog and cat core vaccines can be administered in the first 16 weeks of your pet's life, which means that for many pet motels, four months is the minimum age at which a pet can become a guest.

Will You Give A Pet Medication For An Existing Condition? -- Yes, most pet motels can have their staff members administer medication to your pet for a medical condition as long as you provide detailed instructions on the dosage. However, some pet motels will not allow staff members to administer injections to your pet, because that exposes the facility to liability issues if something goes wrong with how the needle is inserted into your pet.

Contact a company like Macquarie Inn at Club Macquarie to learn more.

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