Happy Cat Hotel & Spa (3460 Hampton) recently welcomed its first feline guests in St. Louis.
For owner Jon Berg, the opening marked the culmination of a journey that once seemed impossible.
Less than eight years ago, Berg was rebuilding his life after addiction had taken away nearly everything. He had lost his apartment and moved back into his mother’s basement with little more than his clothes, a television, and his cats. “I lost my apartment. Everything was just me and my cats,” Berg recalls. “I gave my mom my keys, my money, everything. I just went down to the basement and decided I was going to do this.”
Berg has now been sober since January 16, 2018, a turning point that he credits with making everything that followed possible.
Today, he is the owner of the first Happy Cat Hotel & Spa in the St. Louis area, combining years of feline care experience with a mission to create a boarding experience unlike anything many local cat owners have seen before.
Happy Cat Hotel & Spa is a cat-exclusive boarding and grooming facility where guests stay in themed private suites instead of traditional cages.
Daily enrichment, personalized care, grooming services, photo updates, and 24/7 webcam access give owners peace of mind while their cats enjoy a quieter, dog-free environment designed specifically for feline comfort.
How did cats help inspire a second chance?
Cats have played a major role throughout Berg’s personal and professional life.
Over the past decade, he has worked in animal shelters, rescue organizations, adoption programs, and veterinary medicine. His career includes positions with Stray Rescue of St. Louis, Five Acres Animal Shelter, Animal House Cat Rescue and Adoption Center, Care STL, and Arch Animal Hospital. Those experiences exposed him to thousands of cats with different personalities, medical needs, and backgrounds.
“I am just a natural caregiver of felines,” Berg says. “I genuinely enjoy doing it.”
Then, another unexpected challenge changed his path. While completing his veterinary assistant certification, Berg’s mother died suddenly. At the time, he was working in veterinary medicine, where euthanasias were a regular part of the job. After losing his mother, the emotional weight became much harder to carry.
“When I tried to come back to work afterward, I realized I just didn’t want to be surrounded by so much loss anymore,” he says.
At the same time, Berg and his wife, Caroline, discovered Happy Cat Hotel & Spa, a growing franchise dedicated exclusively to cats. The idea immediately clicked.
Berg credits Caroline and their daughter, Kiera, with helping him build the life he has today. Caroline co-owns the business and handles many of the behind-the-scenes details that keep the operation running smoothly.
“I couldn’t do any of this without my family,” Berg says. “They’ve supported me every step of the way.”
Why cats deserve more than a cage
Many pet owners assume boarding is essentially the same everywhere. Berg says cats often have very different needs than dogs.
Traditional facilities can expose cats to barking, unfamiliar activity, and environments that create anxiety. Happy Cat was built specifically around feline behavior and comfort.
Instead of traditional cages, cats stay in themed private suites equipped with climbing features, resting areas, and places to hide or explore at their own pace. Daily enrichment sessions, personalized attention, grooming services, and a quiet, dog-free environment help reduce stress, while 24/7 webcam access and daily photo updates allow owners to check in from anywhere.
“The cleanliness surprises people a lot,” Berg says. “They expect an odor. They expect noise. Then, they walk in, and it’s calm and serene.”
After training at an existing Happy Cat location in Connecticut, Berg witnessed something that convinced him the concept could succeed in St. Louis.
“These cats come out super stoked,” he says. “They’re very happy to be there.”
Happy Cat also offers cat-exclusive grooming, another service that Berg believes deserves more attention. Regular grooming can reduce shedding and matting, support healthy skin and coats, and make nail trims less stressful. A feline-only environment also eliminates many of the sights, sounds, and distractions that can make grooming appointments overwhelming for cats.
The care that owners never get to see
Berg believes the biggest distinction comes from the attention that each cat receives. Every stay includes enrichment sessions, personalized interaction, daily photo updates, and communication with owners.
“We call it personalized care,” Berg says. “The extra steps we take are what you see reflected in the cat’s attitude when they leave.”
Owners receive daily photos and updates while traveling, home renovations, moving, or even during the holidays. The cat’s own food, familiar blankets, or bedding from home are encouraged to help cats settle in more comfortably.
As a cat owner himself, Berg understands the anxiety many people experience when leaving pets behind. “I hated boarding an animal and just thinking, I hope they’re OK,” he says. “Now, people can actually see how their cat is doing every day.”
A dream that once seemed out of reach
The doors are now open. For customers, Happy Cat Hotel & Spa is a new boarding and grooming option. For Berg, it represents something much bigger.
Years ago, he was starting over after one of the most difficult chapters of his life and uncertain what came next. Then, he committed to moving forward. Today, he is creating the kind of place that he once dreamed about, surrounded by a team of fellow cat lovers who share his commitment to exceptional feline care.
“There is no Happy Cat without sobriety. It changed everything for me,” Berg says.
What visitors saw on opening day is the culmination of a journey that began in his mother’s basement, continued through years of hard work and recovery, and ultimately led to a dream that once seemed out of reach.
This post was created by SLM Partner Studio on behalf of Happy Cat Hotel. For more information, visit happycathotel.com.
