Thinking of starting a cattery - what would you want?

[farmcat]

Namechanged for this as have family members on here who know who I am and I'd like to keep this quiet for now.

I'm looking into starting a cattery - have the land and space (and the time!) and I'm trying to gauge what people look for in a good cattery.

Plans so far are to offer larger runs and housing for more than one cat families, cctv so that people can check in when they are away, collection and drop off service and long term boarding if required.

Anything else I should be thinking about? Should ask I've been involved in licensing catteries and boarding kennels in the past so am aware of the legalities and requirements of holding a licence.

So tell me what would your ideal cattery be like?

No cages. More like a home from home. No idea if that's possible but to still have a "run".

Outside access from the runs?

The one we use has huge runs with old comfy chairs...with heat pads!!

For me, key things would be:

• Impeccable hygiene - pens and general environment kept clean and sanitary.

• Regular contact and attention for each pet, ensuring that their individual needs (e.g. attention and contact, brushing etc) are met.

For me, it boils down to ensuring there are sufficient numbers of staff per numbers of animals boarding, particularly at 'peak' times e.g. holidays, half terms etc.

I look for:

A cattery that's a cattery only and dosnt board dogs.
Large enclosures with access to outdoor runs or at least a view of outdoors so they can watch butterflies etc.
Clean and appropriate comforts such as cat tree in the enclosure, comfy bed etc.
Owned by a genuine cat lover, someone that spends time with them other than just feeding and litter tray emptying.
No boarding of unneutered adult males, or at least not nearby the rest.
Able to bring along home comforts, happy to use litter and food etc. from home so not too much change for the cats.
Owner who takes photos or videos so that you can see how you're cats are getting along. My current cattery uploads to a Facebook site and I check in on there.
I pay over the odds for my area as I am happy to pay more for quality boarding so price isn't too important to me.