I own/run a boarding kennels and cattery... AMA

[itmsylifeitsnowornever]

I have no idea if this will be of any interest to anybody.

My husband, myself and our three daughters (plus one on the way) live in the grounds of, and run a boarding kennels, cattery and small pet hotel [rabbits and guinea pigs mainly].

AMA??

Oh wow that sounds fascinating! How do you ever manage to have a holiday yourselves, do you close your business or do you have staff who can take over?

We currently have 3 members of staff. We try to reduce the number of animals we have when we go on holiday, although as we have children, we go away during school holidays which are our busiest times!

Do you own the property and grounds? Do you have neighbours? How much interaction do you have with the animals? How happy do yourm find cats are in a cattery environment? How many crises have your faced? Do you sometimes have to care for ill pets?

Do any owners have batshit requests for their pets while they're with you?

Do the dogs sometimes get distressed to be there? Is there anything you can do to help them?

Ever had an escapee?

What's your favourite breed of cat?

I've got an Oriental and Siamese ( although I do love all cats including Moggies ).

Favourite breed of dog? I'd love your job!

@JustMyName
Do you own the property and grounds?
Yes, we do.

Do you have neighbours?
Yes, DH's parents! No other neighbours for about half a mile. All our kennels are sound proof though.

How much interaction do you have with the animals?
Between my husband, myself, our staff, children and DH's parents, they get loads of interaction. The dogs are fed at 8am, then at 10am out into the enclosed exercise areas in groups of up to 10 at a time with one of us with them at all times, then its treat time at 12, exercise again at 2, dinner time at 5, exercise again at 6.

How happy do yourm find cats are in a cattery environment?
Our pods, as we call them, are a good size of 6x8 foot with plenty of things for them to climb on and hide in. The majority seem to be very happy, sometimes we have brought a cat into the house if it hasn't settled in the pod.

How many crises have your faced?
Sadly, we did have a cat that passed away during our stay and we paid for a postmortem to discover the reason, which was thankfully natural causes and not something we cause. I can't think of any crises!

Do you sometimes have to care for ill pets?
Not often. We do have a regular dog who is diabetic and we have to inject him with insulin

Has anyone ever left their pet and not returned?

@Parkandride
Do any owners have batshit requests for their pets while they're with you?
We once had somebody who wanted us to get the dog kennel with their dog to cuddle her and stroke her paw until she fell asleep

@SebandAlice
Do the dogs sometimes get distressed to be there? Is there anything you can do to help them?
We always do a 24 hour test stay to see how they get on. If we don't think they'll suit the environment, we tell the owner. We do have a couple of kennels on their own for dogs who dislike or are nervy of other dogs.

@Mrsmartinkemp
Ever had an escapee?
We've had dogs run past the door of their kennel when it's been opened and led us a merry dance around the grounds but never had an escapee without us knowing. They would have to be able to unlock 3 doors to get into the outside.

@Wagsandclaws
What's your favourite breed of cat?
I love moggies. In particular, pure black or black and white.

Favourite breed of dog?
Oh that's tough! I love them all. I do have a soft spot for cocker spaniels though (got 2 of our own)

If you take in two dogs from the same household, do they stay together in kennels? I am thinking of getting a second dog on the assumption that this would be the case, as my dog sometimes indicates he doesn't want to go into kennels (cries when he recognises the road there).

Has anyone ever left their pet and not returned?
Sort of, twice.
First one thought she had booked in for 2 weeks but had only booked in for 1 week, so after the first week we thought she wasn't coming back (took 2 days to get hold of her)

Second one, elderly gentleman of a dog who came to stay once a month for 3 nights at a time. Very regular. The last time the dog stayed, the gentleman never returned. Very very sadly, he had a stroke and died. He had no family, it was a neighbour who realised the dog was missing and it took them 3 weeks to find us/the dog. We took the dog in and she stayed for 3 years until she went to join her owner.

@BullshitVivienne I'm keen to know too! I've just dropped my cat at the Cattery and it's tempting because she's been driving me nuts recently 😹

Do your cats need to be having annual booster injections? We stopped getting them for our 14 year old black and white a few years ago but I think it's needed for cattery stays?

Do you/can you send over photos of my pet to me when I'm on holiday so I can see he is happy? My kennels doesn't do this but I'd love it if they did.

I left my cat in a cattery once and she was absolutely miserable. She stayed in her basket cave (from home) the whole time. When she came home she slept with her paws in my face every night for a month. She will never go back - it’s pet sitters from now on,

What do you do when a pet seems that frightened and unhappy.

Aw!
I love the separate kennels for dogs who are nervy around other dogs. Are you near Edinburgh?

And, how can you tell if they’re happy or not? I can imagine obvious wailing, but maybe they just do that as you approach the kennel/cat pod anyway.

How did you find the new welfare requirements? Were your facilities up to standard?
How many stars did you get? Has any customer ever asked you your star rating?

Do many of the animals do damage to the enclosures?
We've never left our cats in a cattery, but one of them gets really panicky if she gets locked in somewhere, I'd be worried that she would rip her pod apart trying to get out No plans to actually use a cattery because I think they would both be quite distressed, but just wondering if we had to use one in an emergency...

Do your cats need to be having annual booster injections?
Yes, we require all animals, including rabbits and guinea pigs, to be up to date with vaccinations.

Do you/can you send over photos of my pet to me when I'm on holiday so I can see he is happy?
Absolutely! We are actually hoping to set up cameras in all our pods/kennels so that the owners can see their pet 24/7 but it's very costly.

What do you do when a pet seems that frightened and unhappy.
If they don't settle within 24 hours, they come into our home :)

Are you near Edinburgh?
Ha! Nope, sorry!

How did you find the new welfare requirements?
It was good to see what was expected.

Were your facilities up to standard?
Not 100% no, we had to employ another member of staff as we can have 40 dogs and the requirements were 1 full time staff per 15 dogs. At the time we had 2 part time staff, myself (full time) and my husband (part time, he works from home with another job) One lady increased her hours to full time and we took on another full time lady. Before the new welfare requirements, none of us had a OFQUAL qualiicaton. I am now Level 2 and working towards Level 3. We also didn't have a documented enrichment plan which we now have.

How many stars did you get?
We got 3 stars at our last inspection. We are aiming for 5 stars and I believe the changes we have made since our last inspection will get us 5 stars next time.

Has any customer ever asked you your star rating?
They have never asked but on our website we state we are 3 star.

Do many of the animals do damage to the enclosures?
Not really no. And if they did, we would take the animal out and bring in to our home. We certainly wouldn't charge the owners for repairs as we have insurance and it would be our fault, not theirs.

We took the dog in and she stayed for 3 years until she went to join her owner.

That’s brilliant.... you sound great!

Any more questions anybody?

How do the cats cope which the change in their routine? Particularly the nocturnal ones who are normally allowed outside? Are they bored or do they just sleep

If you take in two dogs from the same household, do they stay together in kennels? I am thinking of getting a second dog on the assumption that this would be the case, as my dog sometimes indicates he doesn't want to go into kennels (cries when he recognises the road there).

If you take in two dogs from the same household, do they stay together in kennels?

Yes, absolutely. All of our standard kennels take up to 2 dogs and we have 2 larger kennels that can take 3. Only 2/3 dogs from the same family would share.

How do the cats cope which the change in their routine? Particularly the nocturnal ones who are normally allowed outside? Are they bored or do they just sleep
We always do a trial run with cats and dogs for 24 hours. If they don't seem happy, we wouldn't take them on. They have plenty of enrichment in their pods - toys, scratching posts, high shelves, plus they all have a 6 foot long outside run attached which they have access to from 7am to 7pm. Cats tend to sleep a lot anyway but I've only ever had a handful of cats that have really not settled and they've come into my house for the rest of their stay, but I wouldn't have them back after. Some cats are better with staying in their own home.