Size Regulations For Your Cattery

When you are thinking of building a boarding cattery you will need to bear in mind the building regulations as set out by your local council. One aspect of the building is the size regulations regarding the pens/chalets that the cats are housed in.

You will need to obtain a copy of the 'Animal Boarding Conditions' that each council will have. Most councils will have more or less the same size regulations, bit it would be wise to get a copy of the regulations from your own local council offices.

How Much Space Will be Needed?

Firstly you need to comply with the regulations set out in the animal boarding conditions you should then consider how much space you have and whether you can afford to make the pens/chalets any larger than specified.

Obviously the more pens/chalets that you have the more cats you can accommodate, but you need also to consider your own, and your staffs, working conditions. If a pen/chalet is built to the minimum requirements it could be more difficult to work in.

You do need a certain amount of room to work in and certainly a pen/chalet with sufficient head room makes life easier. Each pen/chalet will need a raised sleeping area and although this will not detract from the overall floor space, room underneath to facilitate proper cleaning is essential.

Family pens/chalet need to be larger than those housing single cats, so you need to decide how many double units you want to build. Of course a single cat can be housed in a larger unit but family groups cannot be housed in a single size pen/chalet.

The larger the pen/chalet, the happier your customers will be, but this needs to be weighed against the amount of room you have and what fees you can charge. Some customers will be quite happy to pay more if their pet has plenty of space.

Exercise Areas

A minimum floor area will be needed in each pen/chalet. Cats, unlike dogs, do not need a separate exercise area, but they must have a floor space completely separate from their sleeping quarters. You can provide outside space for each pen/chalet. You must comply with the size regulations inside the cattery.

Giving each pen/chalet an outside space will be an extra bonus and could make the difference between a customer booking with you or going elsewhere. Many customers like their cats to have access to an outside space particularly in the summer. Perhaps you could consider having a few pens with outside runs, you could charge extra for these pens.

However you decide to lay out your cattery, you will need a corridor that the pens/chalets open onto, which, in the event of a cat escaping from it's pen/chalet will keep the cat enclosed and secure.

Overview of Size Requirements

In general, most councils will stipulate the following sizes/conditions for each unit in a new cattery:

• A sleeping area of at least 0.85 square metres for one cat and an exercise area of at least 1.7 square metres
• A sleeping area of at least 1.5 square metres for two cats and an exercise area of at least 2.23 square metres
• A sleeping area of at least 1.85 square metres for up to four cats and an exercise area of at least 2.8 square metres
• Temporary holding units (for not more than twenty-four hours) must have a minimum floor area of 1.1 square metres and a minimum height of 0.9 metres

Minimum Amount of Pens or Chalets

There is no minimum or maximum number of pens/chalets that you can build. Some catteries have only half a dozen pens/chalets, these pens/chalets are usually larger in size than the regulations require, and will probably be advertised as 'luxury' catteries and will charge accordingly.

Some catteries have hundreds of pens/chalets and are in the position where they are busy all year and employ many staff members. You have to look at your site, assess the size of cattery you want then apply for permission to build.

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