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What is
a good boarding cattery?

By Anne Haughie


When boarding is done properly it performs a valuable role in promoting feline welfare and enables owners to leave their cats while they go away on holiday, move house, undertake home improvements, enjoy family celebrations or deal with domestic crises and emergencies such as hospitalisation with complete peace of mind, in the sure knowledge that their cats are safe and well cared for. When boarding is done badly, it is to the frustration and sometimes horror of owners and to the degradation of the cats themselves.

Over the past 40 years since the Animal Boarding Establishments Act 1963 first came into force much has been written about the disgusting, disgraceful and sometimes horrifying conditions under which cats were and occasionally are still kept in some boarding catteries. Unfortunately,despite a tightening up of licensing regulations and more knowledgeable environmental health officers visiting boarding establishments prior to issuing a licence, there are still loopholes that continue to allow catteries that are badly designed, badly constructed and badly managed by people who, through ignorance or greed, look upon boarding as an easy source of income that can be achieved at the expense of the health and welfare of the cats in their care. Sadly, many cat owners continue to be blissfully unaware of the miseries that can befall their much-loved cats if entrusted to such establishments.

I have visited many boarding catteries up and down the country - some excellent, some good and more than a few truly appalling. It is only a couple of weeks since I spotted the third advert in the space of a year in my local paper appealing for information about a cat lost from a cattery about a mile from where I live. To lose one cat is unforgivable. But three? Although my days of earning a living from inspecting catteries are over, my curiosity got the better of me. I decided to take a look at the place. From the perimeter gate, I got a sight of a hotchpotch of dilapidated buildings in unkempt grounds. Not looking for trouble, I ventured no further. As there is one excellent cattery and at least half a dozen relatively good catteries within a few miles, I can only hazard a guess as to whether it is ignorance or stupidity that prompts owners to continue to board their cats at such an establishment.

 


So what is a good cattery? How is an owner to make a reasoned choice on behalf of his or her cat? How is a boarding cattery proprietor to convince an owner that his or her premises is infinitely preferable to a competitor's just down the road? One has only to browse through any edition of 'Yellow Pages' or 'Thomson's Directory' to see how the boarding cattery scene has expanded over the past few years. Catteries are springing up everywhere and are often variously described as 'five-star', 'top-class' or 'luxury'. For the cat, such descriptions are meaningless; it is the quality of its environment and the quality of its care that counts. Good catteries can be built successfully to many different designs and with a range of different materials. I have always based my judgement of an establishment on whether I would happily board my own cats there and whether my own cats would be happy. At the end of the day, it must be remembered that boarding catteries cater for consumers who have no say in the choice of their holiday home and who are owned by customers who will not be around to speak up for them if things go wrong.

What a cat definitely does not need is luxury as defined in human terms. When an owner goes away on holiday, he or she may well define luxury as staying in a five-star hotel with the provision of freebie toiletries, a fluffy bathrobe, chocolates left on the pillow, satellite TV, videos, radio and a well-stocked mini bar, not to mention clean, elegant and comfortable furnishings, with room service waiting on their every whim. In feline terms, though based on the same premise, luxury is very different.

The accommodation must certainly be clean and attractive with meticulous attention to detail with regard to hygiene and disease control. Items such as curtains and carpets are superfluous and appeal only to the human eye, whereas a cat will appreciate the comfort provided by clean, warm bedding in a pen equipped with shelves and boxes on which to climb, sit or hide in, a scratching post to strop on to its heart's content, as well as toys to keep it interested and active, with the opportunity to enjoy plenty of fresh air and an interesting outlook to help keep boredom at bay while its freedom is restricted. It will enjoy good quality, wholesome food and fresh drinking water and will appreciate a calm, well-ordered routine. Some cats may well enjoy the sound of music - my Siamese were brought up from birth on Elgar and Vivaldi. All will bask in the sense of human warmth and understanding which derives from attentive and caring service.

A good cattery offers only the best. If you offer the very best of care for your feline guests, you will derive enormous job satisfaction and you will make a reasonable income that is well deserved and well earned. Boarded regularly, cats will come to love and trust you and will enjoy their stay. Owners will be prepared to travel any distance to board their cat with you and many will take the precaution of booking their cat's return holiday up to a year in advance and will return time after time. In terms of job satisfaction, I have never forgotten an incident that occurred many years ago when I was doing my boarding cattery training with Sophie Hamilton-Moore and Caryl Cruickshank at FAB's former training cattery, Stonehenge Cats' Hotel in Orcheston. I was dispatched to clean the chalet of a cat that was due to be collected within the hour. I grumbled to myself about all the unnecessary work given that as soon as vacated by the cat, the chalet and pen must be completely disinfected but nonetheless got on with the job in hand. The work finished, I knelt down on the floor to arrange all the cat's toys of which he had brought a large collection from home. I then gave him a cuddle while talking to him about his toy collection. At that point, his owners walked in - I shall always remember the joy on their faces when they saw their very relaxed cat enjoying his cuddle and chat in immaculate surroundings.

In expressing their gratitude, the wife confided that he was their baby and how reluctant they had been to leave him but how they would never worry about boarding him again. Over the years, I received updates of his regular visits to Stonehenge Cats' Hotel and still get a thrill when thinking about the part that I played in ensuring three very satisfied, happy and contented customers.