Most good catteries in Singapore ask for a negative FIV/FeLV blood test before your cat's first stay, and it is usually the requirement that surprises first-time boarders. Vaccination records make obvious sense. A blood test feels like a lot for a few nights away.
Here is what the test is, why a boarding facility asks for it, and how to get it done without a last-minute scramble.
What FIV and FeLV are
FIV is feline immunodeficiency virus. FeLV is feline leukaemia virus. Both are viral infections specific to cats — neither can infect humans — and both affect the immune system, which is why they matter in a shared environment.
They are not the same illness and they do not spread the same way, but for boarding purposes the relevant point is the same: a cat can carry either one for a long time while looking completely healthy. An indoor cat that has never had a sick day can still test positive, particularly if it was adopted as a stray or spent time outdoors before you had it.
Your vet is the right person to explain what a positive result would mean for your individual cat. What follows is about the boarding side only.
Why catteries ask for it
A cattery is a building full of cats from unrelated households, sharing air, surfaces, and often a common play area at different times of day. The test exists so that the facility knows what is in the building.
It protects the other cats staying that week. It protects yours, because a cat with a compromised immune system is more vulnerable to whatever else is circulating. And it protects cats who come later, because some of these viruses persist in ways that affect how a space has to be cleaned and managed.
It is worth being clear about what the requirement is and is not. The Pet Boarding Licence that every Singapore cattery must hold does not, as far as AVS publishes, mandate FIV/FeLV testing. It is a condition individual facilities set for themselves. We explain how to check a cattery's licence separately. So you will find some places that ask for it and some that do not — and a facility asking for more than the legal minimum is generally a good sign rather than an inconvenience.
How to get it done
Any registered vet in Singapore can run it. It is a blood test, usually quick, and most clinics can do it as part of a routine visit rather than a separate appointment.
Three practical things save trouble.
Book it well before your trip. Clinics get busy around school holidays and festive periods, which is exactly when you are most likely to be boarding. Leaving it to the week before is how people end up cancelling.
Ask for the result in writing. You will need to send a copy to the cattery, and the vet saying it was fine is not a document. A clear PDF or photo of the report is all that is needed.
Combine it with the rest of the paperwork. If your cat is also due for vaccinations, do both in one visit — one carrier trip instead of two is better for your cat and your afternoon.
How long the result lasts
Policies differ, so ask the facility rather than assuming. At Catnap we ask for the negative FIV/FeLV result before a cat's first stay, alongside a sterilisation certificate and a vaccination record valid within the last year. We also ask that flea and tick treatment has been given within a week of check-in, and we can apply Revolution at check-in for a small fee if that is easier.
The full requirement list and what to bring is on our booking requirements page, and our complete pre-boarding checklist walks through the rest.
If the result is positive
Do not panic, and do not assume boarding is off the table forever. A positive result is a conversation with your vet first, about what it means for your cat's health and daily care. Then it is a conversation with the facility.
Different catteries handle it differently depending on their layout and whether they can genuinely separate airflow and contact. Be upfront about it. A facility that cannot safely accommodate a positive cat should tell you so honestly, and one that waves it away without asking any questions is telling you something about how carefully it runs the rest of its operation.
The short version
It is a straightforward blood test from any registered vet, it exists to keep a shared building safe, it is a facility requirement rather than a licensing one, and the only real mistake is leaving it until the week you travel.
If you are weighing up boarding against other options, we have written a comparison of a cat hotel, a house sitter and a friend dropping in.
