If your pet is part of the family, your summer holiday is as much a time for them as it is for you. We uncover the best catteries and dog kennels in the UAE for you to drop off your pampered cat or dog for some much needed R&R, with everything from their own spa to gym, chauffeur limo or pool.

Or, if you prefer to keep them at home, there are also pet-sitting services (which often work out a lot cheaper too, as they’re priced per home rather than per pet). Beware – some of these are so popular they’re already booked out way into August.

Here’s a quick summary of the costs (AED):

  Location Dog/ night Cat/ night At home
Posh Paws Dubai 70 – 90 60 100
Paws and Claws Abu Dhabi – – 120 – 200
Cloud Pet Hotel and Care Abu Dhabi 105 – 165 90 –
Pet Palace Dubai 130 – 180 90 –
Urban Tails Pet Resort Dubai 130 – 215 100 –

Posh Paws

  • Best for: Value for money
  • About: A pet sitting, boarding and grooming service for dogs and cats. Book at least four months in advance for the holiday season. (Some people book up a whole year in advance, to guarantee a spot.) Summer season now fully booked until 3 August 2014.
  • Contact: www.poshpawsdubai.com/ 050 2730973
  • Location: The cattery is in Al Khawaneej in Dubai and the kennels are at the Animal Care House, on the border of Ajman and Sharjah.
  • Stand-out features: All 102 kennels are equipped with their own private shaded garden. There are also 12 shaded, grassy communal areas, all with paddling pools, tunnels and toys. Dogs are walked twice daily, in the early morning and afternoon.
  • Pet boarding price: A dog under 10kg is AED 70, a 10 – 20kg dog is AED 80 and a dog over 20kg is AED 90 per night. All dogs are given Frontline on entry to the kennel at a charge of AED 50, to protect against ticks and fleas. Cats are AED 60 a night. Rabbits are also accommodated at the cattery, for AED 30 a night. There’s a 20 percent discount for additional pets, and a special rate for long-term stays.
  • Pet sitting: A member of staff stays overnight with the dog, gives them a walk, then returns at lunch time the following day for a check-up and another walk. Cats don’t get the overnight treatment or the walks, and are visited twice a day.
  • Pet sitting price: Dogs and cats are both AED 100 a night per home (regardless of how many pets are in that home).

Paws and Claws

  • Best for: Reassurance your pet is in safe hands, without exposing them to the stress of adapting to new surroundings
  • About: Pet sitting and dog walking service. For a cat, services involve feeding, changing water and litter tray, playtime and cuddles. Dogs are also taken for a walk.
  • Contact: Facebook.com/Paws&Claws-Abu Dhabi/  050 3827294/ pawsandclawsabudhabi@outlook.com
  • Location: Employees are spread around town to enable them to visit pets on and off the island, around Abu Dhabi.
  • Stand-out features: Indoor plants can be watered at no extra charge.
  • Pet sitting price: AED 60 for each 30 minute visit, which normally takes place twice a day in the morning and evening – so, in all, AED 120 a day. For a dog, the visit would include a 20-minute walk. The visit could be extended to an hour to include a 50-minute walk, for AED 100 (AED 200 a day).  The price is per home, regardless of the number of pets you have.

Cloud Pet Hotel and Care

  • Best for: Spoiling your pet with their purrfect holiday
  • About: Abu Dhabi’s first Pet Hotel, specializing in VIP treatment (that’s ‘Very Important Pets’, of course). Provides overnight stays, daycare and grooming. They also look after small animals such as rabbits and birds. Fully booked up for July and August 2014.
  • Contact: www.cloud9pethotel.com/ 02 5564111/ info@cloud9pethotel.com
  • Location: Khalifa City A, close to Al Forsan Sports Resort.
  • Stand-out features: A cat play-room, spa and suites. Plus a chauffeur service for pick-up and drop-off.
  • Pet boarding price: For dogs, a small room is AED 105, a standard room is AED 115 and a VIP room is AED 165. Cat rooms are all AED 95. 

Pet Palace

  • Best for: Understated luxury
  • About: The name says it all. Limited space now through the summer months – book at least two months in advance for peak seasons.
  • Contact: www.petpalace.ae / 04 3236993/ info@petpalace.ae
  • Location: 26th Street, Al Quoz Industrial #4, Dubai.
  • Stand-out features: Dogs sleep in luxury beds. They’re treated to outdoor visits every two to three hours in a plush green run, with a mist fan system to keep them cool. Pampered pussies get their own scratch posts, and platforms to sleep on.
  • Pet boarding price: During holiday season, dogs up to 20kg are AED 130, to 40kg are AED 150 and over 40kg are AED 180 per day. Cats are AED 90 per day. Out of season, the prices go down to AED 100 for a dog up to 40kg, and cats are AED 70 a day.  There is a 15 percent discount for any additional animal.

Urban Tails Pet Resort

  • Best for: Pets who are used to sitting in the lap of luxury
  • About: The Burj Al Arab of pet holidays. Might be tricky trying to persuade Rover to come home afterwards. Summer months have been fully booked since March.
  • Contact: www.urbantailsdubai.com/ 04 8848847/ info@urbantailsdubai.com
  • Location: Dubai Investment Park, near Green Community.
  • Stand-out features: Royal Suites have a raised bed, plasma TV and web cam. Facilities include indoor and outdoor pet gym, outdoor swimming pool, and pet limo to pick up and drop off your pets at the hotel in comfort.
  • Pet boarding price: Peak season – junior suite AED 135, deluxe suite AED 155, urban suite AED 165 and Royal Suite AED 215. Suites are AED 20 cheaper off-peak. Play areas can be viewed through online webcams for AED 20 a day. Kitty condos are AED 100, AED 85 off-peak. Twenty percent discount on the second pet when two pets share a room.

Pet separation anxiety?

Are you getting worried about your cat (or, especially dog) getting worried when you drop them off at the pet hotel or when you head off on holiday and leave them in the hands of a pet sitter? Here are a few guides to help –

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