Member Advice On Catteries/Boarding Kennels > Reviews (5)

I have one cat – my beloved baby Purdy. Generally, in the past when David and l have gone on holiday or on weekend breaks, a member of our family’s have agreed to stay in our house to mind her or l take her to visit her “Granny” - my mum. This year for various reasons it simply wasn’t an option for someone to stay at our house – they all had other plans, and Purdy gets extremely car sick and scared when travelling. I live approximately 75 miles from my mum’s house so this was torturing my poor cat.

My only option was to use the facilities of a cattery. As l was not from the area l really did not know where to beginning. I knew that David (my partner’s mum) had used boarding kennels for her dogs Misty and CoCo in the past and found them to be excellent, but l had also heard horror stories of beloved furry family members being traumatised and their personalities unrecognisable.

My first plan of action was to ask around, so l asked work colleagues who l knew to be cat lovers. Some were of the school of thought – Oh how could you be so cruel as to incarcerate your feline friend – which was really of no help whatsoever! Whilst others were able to recommend various establishments.

I also got out the trusty yellow pages and ploughed through the available establishments – choosing them on closeness to my home. I was quite surprised to actually learn how many Catteries existed in my immediate area – it was quite promising.

I tend to believe a lot in gut feeling and instincts, so l made initial telephone calls to the various establishments l had found and which had been recommended. I asked the same general questions to them all:

 Do you have places available during blah blah
 How do you house your residents
 With what do you feed them
 Do l require insurance
 How much do you charge per night
 How do you arrange for exercise for the residents
 What are your pick up and collection times
 May l visit the cattery before l bring my cat to stay

From these straight forward plain and simple (at least that’s what l thought) questions l was able to get a good picture of which establishments were staying on my lists and which were taken off. One establishment in particular which happened to be 5 minutes away from my house insisted that an insurance premium was paid, if your cat ate particular foods (Purdy is a big Felix fan) you must provide these yourself, you could only pick up week days and Saturday mornings and actually cost more per night than all the others. I found the average cost of a nights stay came to £4 whilst these shysters were charging £6.50. Oh no sir – l was not even going to contemplate visiting. From the phone l got the distinct impression that they were inexperienced and not genuine cat lovers (of course l could be wrong!).

I ended up provisionally booking one cattery – The Cats Inn, on the road to Larne in Northern Ireland. Why the lady who was in charge took time to talk to me in great length about her establishment, gave me excellent direction and seemed really interested in Purdy.

I just got a good feeling about her, she loved cats and her life seemed to revolve around them.

I visited on a Saturday morning – after getting lost and getting directions from a local farmer l eventually made it to the Cats Inn. Pat Smyth the owner (and sole worker greeted me by the looks of things!). She showed me around – it is not a big place but the “cages” even though lm loath to use that word were spacious. She had inside and outside runs for the pussies to go to get some exercise – inside they had tree branches for climbing and scratching. She had homes for sisters/friends to stay together and even adjoining cages so those cats from the same family could visit each other. She asked if Purdy was fully inoculated and stated that l must bring her medical record card with me on her registration day otherwise she could not admit her. She asked about Purdy’s dietary habits – and said she would provide it. I left feeling so much happier and easier about leaving her.

Purdy has stayed over with her auntie Pat on 3 different occasions now and although Pat may have a bad memory of owners – as soon as she sees Purdy she is able to name her!! All the cats seem to love her and she kisses and fondles them with a motherly love. I am very lucky to have found such a wonderful place, where l know my little baby is safe and loved!

So if you are considering a cattery or kennels for you furry friends please follow my advice:

 Ask friends and colleagues for recommendations (or where to avoid)
 Phone around and ask questions
 Ask you vets
 Ensure your pet is fully inoculated – otherwise no cattery/kennels in the country will house them
 Visit the premise before leaving your animal
 Look at how the other residents react to the keepers/owners – are they listless or lively – it is usually a good sign
 Most important of all – GO WITH YOUR GUT FEELING – if you feel unhappy then it is not the place for you pet and it will ruin your break away too as you will be worried about them

I hope you find this information useful on your search for the perfect holiday home for your pet!

Heather 4/9/01