For anyone thinking of, or in the throes of planning to open a boarding cattery, I would say go for it! Although this blog is featured on our Live Well, I couldn’t leave out a mention of one of the most important aspects of my life – looking after other peoples felines!
The past 13 years have flown by, but back to the beginning of 2007, I conducted a lot of research into the type of accommodation that would be “fit for a feline” and realise my dream of building a modern luxury cat hotel.
I had never created a business plan, let alone asked for a business loan. Putting together an idea on how to raise the capital and get permission from the local council to approve the build and find the right company to build my dream cat hotel was a challenging task.
Of course, nothing would have been possible if I had not had the support and wise business head of my partner. He was instrumental in steering me in the right direction and ever-patient with the decimation of our garden.
We dismantled the greenhouse to make way for the new build. The local archaeological team insisted on digging for Roman treasures due to our property being close to an area of particular scientific interest! All this for a cat hotel? I wondered what I had started when the concrete lorry arrived to deposit its load in what had been an attractive garden.
Several months later, the installation team from Pedigree Pens™ arrived with yards of roofing, windows and all the other framework for my new cat hotel. Himself had volunteered to put down all the tiling in advance of the build – it was a hot summer and tempers were frayed trying to meet the deadline plus there was an office to build too!
If the equipment one needs for a newborn baby is anything to go by, it was a similar exercise in kitting out each cat unit before my feline guests arrived. Orders for beds, scratching posts, the right kind of bedding, radiators (yes, they also need those) and lighting went into local suppliers and a lot of cash left the bank! We installed alarms, fire extinguishers and later cameras to ensure that all was in place and ready for opening on 1st August 2008.
It has been an incredible 13 years, and I have met some beautiful people and cats during that time. A huge thank you to my customers for letting me look after your lovely cats. Featured below are two of my beloved felines, Raffles and Teddy!
You can find out more about our cat hotel at Riverside Cat Hotel, and for information on our state of the art cattery buildings, please visit www.pedigreepens.co.uk.
