While owners away, cats play at Kitty Inn

For a place to stay when the master’s away, The Kitty Inn is the cat’s meow for Federal Way felines.

Jennifer Sepich gives cats a home away from home by giving them their own room, complete with television, a tent-style bed and personal litter boxes. It is, she said, an alternative to traditional kennels that lack homey touches.

A maximum of six cats can occupy the room. Each gets a separate living space and takes turns at having the run of the room, which is furnished with a couch, carpeting, a stereo and plants in addition to the TV that sometimes is turned on to help the furry guests feel more at home.

Only one cat at a time has the room to itself, since cats generally don’t get along with each other, Sepich noted.

Cats can also be finicky eaters, so their owners leave their special food with Sepich.

She dosn’t have any cats of her own, but she and her sons, 5 and 6 years old, lavish their guests with attention.

Sepich started a dogsitting business in her home on 18th Avenue Southwest six yeras ago when her first son was born. “I wanted something I could do without leaving the house,” she said.

Lots of her friends have cats, giving her the idea to expand into cats. She and her husband (who has “a slight allergy” to cats, Sepich said) converted part of their garage into The Kitty Inn, which charges $10 a day per cat, is open seven days a week by appointment, and wlil pick up and drop off cats.

Sepich, who figured her rates based on what kennels charge, is a licensed petcare provider. But most of all, “I’m an animal lover,” said Sepich, whose family has two dogs –– a Samoyan retriever mix and a Great Dane/labrador mix.

The family pooches sometimes share their home with two or three dogs that Sepich sits. “What we try to do with the dogs and the cats is make them as comfortable as we can and take away some of the trauma that pets feel when their owners are away,” she explained.

Editor Pat Jenkins can be reached at 925-5565 and editor@fedwaymirror.com

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