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Anyone owned/run a cattery?

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I know it's a rather odd question but, working out my notice of redundancy and with an employer not rushing to offer me suitable alternative work (or any work for that matter), I had a think about what else I could do and came up with owning a cattery :shock: , and would love any and all advice and experience.

 

There's just me and it would have to be big enough to provide a reasonable income, but not so big I couldn't possibly afford to buy it, and there are a few on the market. I would be looking to buy an existing business as I don't have a financial cushion to keep me while a new business became established.

 

So what do I need to think about? Turnover and profit, ability to deal with people, organisation and IT skills, knowing it's physically hard work - but eg does someone have to be on the premises every minute of every day (could I actually run it on my own?), do I need to learn how to administer medication, at what point do you consider a cat dumped :( and what do you do about that? The positives are clear :D , but what are the downsides?

 

On the face of it, it seems a realistic alternative career and life plan, and any and all advice and experience would be very welcome to help me make a sound decision. Many thanks in advance.

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I have no actual experience of running a cattery, but one of the first things which would spring to mind is do some market/competition research to ensure the local market isn't saturated and also to look at the reputation of the business you buy. Because people choose catteries on gut feel - you need a connection with the owner as well as being happy with the facilities - it could be hard to dispel bad PR. I'd also visit a few catteries to see their set-ups so you know what are/could be good/poor practices in the running and marketing of yours.

 

The biggest downsides I can see, aside from making enough to live on (I know the cattery I use is very quiet in November, with a bit of trade in the winter from winter hols but not much, but its full across the summer), are the severe curtailment of your own life (even if you are open say 4 hours a day people could ring any time and you need to get back to them pretty swiftly) which would indicate you need some sort of cover for illness if nothing else. Also, you will need to be OK with incessantly dealing with poo and sick :think:

 

However, I can see it being a nice life as well. My cattery is in a nice location, with a bit of land and a fabulous garden! I can see the appeal of being able to enjoy that 24/7.

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you will need to be OK with incessantly dealing with poo and sick :think:

 

:lol::vom::lol: Currently five hens and four cats, one of whom inhales his food and brings it back up, and another who specialises in noisy and vile fur-balls in the early hours of the morning :vom: . Bodily fluids are not a problem - what mop, bucket and bleach are for!

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Would you consider chicken sitting too?

I have a place nearish to me that boards pets of all sorts, not just cats. They have three chicken coops, look after dogs in their home (Bit smelly tbh, I wouldn't do that bit) but have a heated garage space/annex that houses several rabbit and gpig houses and space for rats, gerbils hamsters etc. Not quite the business related advise you were after DC but I thought I'd mention it as it's good to be diverse and could give you the edge over somewhere else.

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I would have thought you would need to have an assistant of some sort if only for the odd time that you are ill. If you had a nasty bout of flu for instance you would not be capable of looking after the animals.

 

Very good idea to offer to take in chickens and small animals. Also look into the cost of insurance and licensing. I would imagine that the heating costs would be quite a lot in the winter as you would have to have either cosy heated outside runs or the ability to house them all inside in the winter.

 

Good luck

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I also think a lot of it is on word of mouth. Our vet refused to recommend anyone but the nurse saidseveral people had used a particular one and were happy with it.and gave me the card. I would speak to a few vets in the area you interested in too. good luck

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I don't have personal experince, but one person whom I know runs one, and even though it is in their own garden, they employee people to help them with all the work cleaning all the animals our regularly (twice a day?) plus feeding and watering. They normally go for 16-18 yr olds looking for extra cash!

 

They also have to deal with some pretty viscious animals - so gauntlets are a must! (Even though their owners are convinced they wouldn't hurt a fly...) Oh, and ensuring you have a good vet on standby - with a large number of cats in your care, you are guaranteed to have a few problems!

 

It is full on, and the owners can be ten times more hassle than the cats themselves, so be prepared to deal with lots of neurotic owners who are convinced that Tiddles can't sleep without being tucked up in their cashmere blanket and cuddled and kissed to sleep...

 

Good luck though - our friend does really enjoys doing it, and done it for years!

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I would love to own/run a cattery.But I would like to build my own pens, they would be bigger, more like rooms with lots of different levels. My cats have been going to the same cattery for the last 21 years.It isn't the most modern looking establishment and the owners haven't any proper qualifications, but my cats go there as I know the owners CARE. I did look at another place that opened closer to us, it advertised as having vet nurses on the premises ( the owners) and ultra modern pens, but to me it looked very sterile- the cats couldn't have their own blankets and cat tower, the pens were fully enclosed with windows- seemed very small and claustrophobic I thought, and the owners seemed clinical. Something to take into consideration if you do decide to buy a cattery perhaps as I wouldn't touch the 2nd, more modern establishment with a bargepole :lol:

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Yes I would definitely consider chook and anything else sitting, though this may depend on licenses and planning permission. My sister-in-law commented that they couldn't get anyone to look after their lizards (the children are all allergic to anything furry), so that would be a possibility too.

 

Good advice re considering what happens if you're ill and needing cover. I'm sure I read somewhere too that insurers want someone on the premises at all times, but I know the owner of the cattery mine used to go to used to pop out.

 

I'd probably be looking at FAB standard pens but I would always encourage everyone to bring beds, blankets, toys etc to help their cats settle with something familiar. Puddy used to take a well-worn t-shirt as a blanket because it smelled of me - aaww! :D

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Rather than moving home perhaps you should consider pet sitting/dog walking

 

When we lived in Bristol we had a lovely lady that visited when we were on hols to feed and fuss the cats and walk the dog, she was experienced at pet first aid etc.. which was good, she also did vet runs in her car for elderly people's pets etc.. and took in the odd dog at her home too, she wasnt rolling in it but it did give her a living and when she went on holiday herself she simply didnt take bookings for those weeks

 

Cats are far calmer in their home environment and people will often pay good money for peace of mind

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I've used a pet visiting service, my cats would hate being in a cattery and I'd rather have someone coming in to keep an eye on the house and watering the plants - and of course, feeding the chooks! Of course the cost is less, but then so are your overheads.

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Thanks for your support everyone - interesting ideas and suggestions :think:

 

I had considered pet-sitting, but this area has not much population and a lot of area, so I had discounted it as too much time and money spent driving for the income. Since all pets need attention morning and evening, you could take on only very few at once and I didn't think I could keep body and soul together for long on the money I'd bring home - not that I have a particularly champagne lifestyle. I'd certainly give it a go in the short term though, as it would probably pay more than jobseeker's allowance and be much more fun than sitting at home while waiting for a suitable cattery to be available.

 

I'll give the NFU a ring and see what info I can get re insurance costs and requirements eg someone on premises at all times (or not).

 

Trawling round the internet I have a found a cattery for sale that looks to have potential and is much closer to my family. Maybe I need to take the plunge, talk to the agent re profit and take it couple of days off to go and look at it, if it's a runner? Talking to the actual owner may help make up my mind. I might also be very cheeky, if I decide this has potential, and see if the owner of the cattery mine went to could spare time for a chat - explaining I'd be at the other end of the country and no competition!

 

Thanks again everyone - I can always rely on my fellow Omleteers to speak sense :D .

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