Cattery Design: The Essential Guide to Creating Your Perfect Cattery ~ Hardback

This book contains step-by-step cattery building guidance and advice from expert, David Key, on plans, construction, materials, equipment and all aspects of your design. This complete reference guides you through all the options you need to think about before building or updating your cattery. Cat welfare experts, Dr. Irene Rochlitz and Nadine Gourkow help you better understand and incorporate cat welfare knowledge into your design to improve it beyond measure. It also features fascinating case studies from successful boarding catteries, and world renowned charities such as BCSPCA, Blue Cross, Cats Protection, Feline Advisory Bureau, RSPCA and Wood Green Animal Shelters. This essential guide will provide you with an easy to read, encouraging and inspirational overview of cattery systems, equipment and materials. With step-by-step guidance for creating your perfect cattery design at your fingertips, and real life case studies, this book will help you understand how catteries can be improved with cat welfare knowledge. It is lavishly packed with over 400 large colour photographs, many of which are full or double-page spreads showing lots of detail - just like looking through a window! How many of us dream about changing our lives, starting our own business, working from home in a beautiful countryside location, spending more time with our beloved pets, and making a difference to the lives of cats and their owners? You probably already have a multi-cat household, but whether you have always dreamed about working with cats, have just realised that this is what you want to do with your life, are already lucky enough to be working with cats, or you are just interested in cat welfare (generally or professionally) - you will adore this inspirational book. If creating a cattery is what you dream of, then naturally you will want to provide the best accommodation and care, earn a good living, have fun and love what you do: providing a healthy, safe, loving environment for cats. Whether you are interested in what makes good housing for your own cats, boarding, rescue or breeding - the foundation should be good cat welfare. As well as looking the part, your cattery must be easy to live in, visit and work with on a daily basis - and this book will provide you with the ideas, practical information, design advice and inspiration to help you create your perfect cattery.Table of ContentsForeword by Cats Protection INTRODUCTION: Acknowledgements David Key Aim of This Book and Accompanying Website What is in This Book Other Ways We Can Help You Care and Management Create Your Perfect Cattery CHAPTER 1: TODAY'S DEMANDS Why Quality Cattery Design is Essential The Demand for Quality and Caring Catteries Case Study: A Model Boarding Cattery Property, Land and Building Costs Cattery only, or Kennels Too? Income and Deciding on the Number of Units Case Study: The Purrfect Small Business How Catteries Describe Themselves Understanding the Pet Market CHAPTER 2: CATTERY RAISON D'ETRE: Rescue Boarding Boarding Cattery Advice Breeding/Showing Quarantine Veterinary Private/Pet Multi-cat Owners CHAPTER 3: PURCHASE AND PLANNING: What You Must Comply With Getting Permission to Build a Cattery Site Location How Much Land is Required? Purchase of an Existing Business Buying a Cattery Business Selling a Cattery Business Purchase of a Brown or Green-field Site Planning and Zoning Permission How Design Issues Can Help Your Application Enforcement of Planning Control Demolition Site Purchase Landscaping and Trees near Buildings Case Study: Location, Location, Location Common, Costly Errors to be Avoided! CHAPTER 4: ANCILLARY BUILDINGS: Aspect and Site Layout Reception Isolation Admissions Public Access Areas Laundry Refuse Area Incinerator CHAPTER 5: CAT WELFARE: Cat Welfare Requirements Focusing on What Cats Need Quantity of Space Housing and Welfare Cat Welfare Cat Emotions The Danger of Stress Stress Factors to Reduce CHAPTER 6: LEGISLATION Cattery Licence Regulations My Suggested Cat Unit Sizes Use of Medical Cages/Carriers/Condos Enriching Single Living Case Study: Condo? No Can Do! The Trend Towards Larger Accommodation Case Study: Large Suite Accommodation Statutory Legislation CHAPTER 7: CATTERY TYPES AND UNIT STYLES: Cattery Types and Cat Unit Styles Indoor Catteries Case Study: Indoor Rescue Cattery Outdoor Catteries Semi-outdoor Catteries Corridors Unit Styles Case Study: Penthouse Style Rescue Holding Units Mother and Kitten Multi-cat Housing Case Study: Multi-cat Cottage Socialisation/Rehoming Areas and Homelike Rooms Case Study: Homelike Socialisation Room Indoor-only Versus Outdoor Access Case Study: Keeping Cats Safe Outdoors CHAPTER 8: PROJECT MANAGEMENT: Managing Building Projects and Contractors Long-term Costs Project Development Costs Professional Project Management Case Study: A Big Project! CHAPTER 9: CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS: External Construction Material Choices Building Construction Materials Timber UPVC/PVCu UPVC Cat Pens Case Study: UPVC Construction Lightweight Steel-Framed Buildings Brick, Stone, Block and Poured Concrete Conversion of Existing Buildings Case Study: Brick Construction Case Study: Barn Conversion CHAPTER 10: THERMAL INSULATION: Thermal Insulation - Warmth and Cooling Insulating Materials CHAPTER 11: FINISHING MATERIALS: Floor Finish Considerations Cleaning System Compatibility Floor Slope Flooring Choices Why Floors Fail Walling Choices Cattery Partitions Roof Coverings CHAPTER 12: ENVIRONMENT CONTROL: Environment Control Lighting Heating and Temperature Cooling Systems (Air Conditioning) Ventilation Air Changes Per Hour Ventilation Systems Risk of Disease - Increasing and Reducing Factors Condensation (Dehumidification) CHAPTER 13: ENVIRONMENT ENRICHMENT Why Enrich the Environment Hiding Perching/Up High/Vantage Points Climbing and Jumping Cat Furniture Interaction with Familiar Faces Sight Sound Smell Touch Taste Predatory Behaviour Purring Settling In Case Study: Making a Difference CHAPTER 14: DRAINAGE, KITCHEN, CLEANING & DISINFECTION Cattery Drainage Systems Kitchen Facilities Food Preparation, Litter Tray Cleaning and Sink Units Hot Water The Difference Between Cleaning and Disinfection CHAPTER 15: UTILITY AND SERVICE SUPPLIES: Main Utility and Service Supplies Heating Water Supply CHAPTER 16: ENVIRONMENTAL LEGISLATION: Environmental Legislation Sewage Disposal Surface Water Disposal Water Supply Regulations CHAPTER 17: MAKING IT YOURS: Making It Yours Case Study: Japanese Feng Shui Garden Other Services You Can Offer Your Website Bookings and Software Case Study:Ready to go! INDEX: Case Studies References Organisations Books QuotationsAuthor BiographyDavid Key is a Consultant in Kennel and Cattery Design and has advised hundreds of potential and existing kennel and cattery owners worldwide - ideas, improvements and planning through to designs, building and technical details. For over 20 years David has also been responsible for The Blue Cross Animal Welfare Charity animal and staff buildings and property at their cat and dog adoption, companion animal and equine rescue and rehoming centres. During this time David founded an Animal Welfare Charity Design Forum, with the aim of sharing information between leading national animal welfare charities in the UK to prevent costly design, materials or building mistakes. David has been professionally involved with animals for over 30 years. His experience spans companion animals, wildlife and wild animals and he has provided guidance and advice to animal welfare organizations, rescues, boarding, veterinary clinics and animal hospitals, quarantine, architects, police forces, customs and excise, breeding and multi-pet owners. David's interest started by helping out with a friend's show kennels while still at school, and occasionally working with the local RSPCA Inspector. This progressed to working at local boarding kennels and cattery for over 10 years and later at a zoological gardens. This unusual combination of animal work and practical skills developed into an interest in buildings, particularly relating to animal accommodation. In 2000, David and his wife Kay created the Kennel and Cattery Design business www.catterydesign.com to help promote the kennel and cattery design books, help people find resources and suppliers , and provide an international service for people looking for information on how to build and start up a kennels or cattery. Kay runs the business on a day-to-day basis and David provides consultancy and technical building advice, as well as continuing to look at design issues, construction methods and materials that help to improve animal welfare accommodation.