IT'S NOT A JAIL SENTENCE (Boarding Kennels in general)

Member Name: jingles

Product:	Boarding Kennels in general
Date:	04/09/01 (775 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: It gives owners a chance to get a break away

Disadvantages: Some establishments are awful and no care is shown for the animals

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 begin. 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

Summary: