THE CATTERY
The breeding cattery was purpose built in 2005 and was updated as time passed by. The original cattery consists of six purpose built runs with free access to the indoor/outdoor areas of these runs at all times. On top of that a large garden area of approximately 10m x 10m was enclosed and made safe with a net top and sides to allow the cats a larger area to run, eat grass, chase bugs etc. The breeding cats get rotated in this area and cats that get along with each other can spend time together playing, chasing each other etc. Female cats spend time inside the house on a rotational basis and depends on seasons and cycles. All kittens that I keep for breeding are raised inside the house to maturity.
Next came the stud runs that were added to the far side of the netted area. The studs do not get to spend time inside the house (due to marking issues) so they have much larger indoor/outdoor areas, these are approximately 2.5 metres inside area and 4m x 5m’s outside area which they have free access to at all times. The boys also get to spend time in the netted area and they often get to entertain their ladies out there during breeding season.
In 2013 a second cattery was built for the purpose of looking after other people’s cats while they are on holidays or for some other reason need temporary accommodation for their cats. This was later named ‘Cosy Cats Luxury Cat Hotel’ and was opening for business in December 2014. This now meant that I could give up my day job and work from home, allowing me more time with my own cats as I was no longer going out to work.
Cosy Cats was built to a five star standard and at all times I kept in mind that it should be somewhere that I would be happy to leave my cats if I were to go on holiday. With this in mind it became heated/cooled 24/7 and each room was like a small bedroom with a window and ledge to sit on, scratching posts, finished with a washable paint and the flooring is covered with industrial quality lino making it extremely easy to keep clean and be disinfected between occupants.
Cosy Cats then became the perfect place to not only look after other people’s cats but doubled up as a safe area to raise baby kittens, keep them cosy/warm and mums happy and comfortable. There is also room for me to throw down a mattress for those long nights of helping mums to birth, getting the new babies started or hand feeding babies where needed at two hourly intervals 24/7. Each mother with her kittens is kept totally separate from other cats in the cattery to reduce any risks. Once the babies reach the stage where they are toilet trained and eating independently they can then be moved into the house for the final part of getting them ready for new homes, house training.
