Why Do White Cats Make Poor Mothers?

Surely the color of your pet’s fur doesn’t affect her parenting skills?

Surprisingly, it does!

However, it’s not quite as straightforward as simply being the color of her fur. Many white cats are deaf and simply cannot hear the mewling of their kittens when they call to her, so she appears to be indifferent to their cries.

She really would be a good mother - if only she knew that her motherly attentions were needed.

But the story doesn’t end there. As fascinating as it is to discover that white cats are frequently deaf - it is only the blue-eyed white cats that are afflicted. Orange-eyed white cats don’t seem to suffer in the same way.

Even more spooky, cats who are born with one blue eye and one orange eye are deaf in the ear on the blue eye side - the other ear hears perfectly!

The defect is genetic. Shortly after birth, the cochlea in the ear starts to fail and this deterioration cannot be halted or reversed. This failing can be passed on to any kittens she may have so it’s probably best not to breed from a deaf cat.

If you are wondering if your white cat is deaf - try rustling some paper behind her and out of her sight to see if she reacts. Banging, clapping or stamping won’t be useful as a test as deaf cats are expert at detecting vibration in the air and will react to that, rather than the noise.

Could You Run a Boarding Cattery?

Ever fancied making money out of your hobby? Or better still, out of something that you already willingly do every day?

As a cat owner, you have practically all the skills you need to run a boarding cattery and potentially have a second income - all without leaving your own home!

Many people extend their love of cats to looking after other people’s pets whilst they are away from home.  Thousands of neighbours think nothing of caring for a friend’s cat during the holiday period but few consider making it into a business.

There are three business models - build a small number of boarding ‘chalets’ in your own back garden,  purchase an existing boarding establishment or offer a home visiting service , caring for pets in their own homes.

Below is an extract from this week’s Cat Owners Confidential newsletter on this very subject. Read through it and leave a comment letting me know whether it’s the sort of thing you’d like to do yourself and if you don’t already receive your copy of the newsletter, sign up in the box provided - you’ll be glad you did!

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So, what would you need to run your own boarding cattery business? Well, firstly, you would need to think long and hard about how it would fit into your life - or rather, how your life would fit around your business! Look at your daily routine with your own cat.  

 Nothing too taxing there, you might think. But with a boarding cattery you will need to multiply all that by 10, 20, 30 or even 50!  It’s quite a time commitment, isn’t it? Factor in need to answer the telephone taking bookings and enquiries. You’ll need an office - or at least permanent space in your home for your paperwork, phone and computer. You will need to work out a system for receiving cats when they are being booked in and collected. Will you deal with incoming and outgoing clients whenever you are available, or at specified times each day? How about weekends? Most of your clients will need to bring their pets to you when they are not at work and that means that you will need to be available when it suits your clients - not you! Of course, if you have staff, all these inconveniences can be covered by them but staff means that you need to be making the sort of profit that will enable you to pay them.  As I told you last week, once the owner loses the personal touch, the cats sometimes aren’t cared for as well as you would like them to be cared for……. All the above points need to be carefully thought about even before getting out of your chair to search for a suitable property, or plan to build a cattery in your own back garden. But before all that, there is one burning question that I am sure you would like answered -  How Much Money Can I Make From Running a Boarding Cattery? Well, as a rule of thumb, here in the UK you can realistically expect to produce around £1000 ($2000) per year, per chalet.  So, if you have a total of 25 chalets in your cattery, (which would be a small to medium sized establishment),  you can expect to produce an income of around £25000 ($50000) per annum.  Not bad for a job that you are already skilled for and that doesn’t require you to join the daily commute from home to some concrete jungle. And often, running a cattery is a secondary income for a household. Not bad for doing something you already do, just on a grander scale, don’t you think?

Boarding Catteries - A Necessary Evil?

You’ve booked your holiday of a lifetime, chosen your new beachwear and laid in ample supplies of suntan lotion - but what about your cat? What arrangements will you make for his care whilst you are away? Many people have good friends or neighbors who will pop in twice a day and feed your pet but many owners don’t have this luxury. Their only option is to book their cat into a cattery.  And here’s the problem. Many business owners care more for their balance sheet than for the cats in their care and often poor regulation means that operating procedures are badly thought through. A lack of understanding of proper cat care inevitably results in unhappy and unhealthy conditions. No loving owner wants that for their pet!   So what should you look for when choosing a boarding cattery for your lovely cat?  Here are my top five recommendations: 

1. An Owner-run establishment. Not just a name on a letterhead but real hands-on involvement. If the owner is willing to put in the work, they obviously get pleasure from building up a relationship with each individual animal - cuddles included!
2. High-quality, suitable and clean accommodation. Each chalet should have an indoor area with clean, separate bedding for each cat. There should be a heat source for cold periods - after all, what cat doesn’t appreciate a bit of warmth to snooze in?  There should be access to an enclosed run and there should be ’sneeze barriers’ to prevent the spread of any infection to other cats. THERE SHOULD BE NO POSSIBILITY OF DIRECT CONTACT WITH CATS IN ADJOINING CHALETS AT ALL!
3. Access to clean water at all times and regular food of a type that your cat enjoys. All this should be noted as a matter of routine at the time of booking. Also, litter trays should be placed away from feeding bowls and cleaned twice a day.
4. A willingness to administer any necessary medication by the owner/staff who are competent to do so.
5. And finally, a happy and open attitude from the owner or staff. This doesn’t really form part of ‘How To Run a Cattery’, of course but if the people you come into contact with are chatty and open, then you can all but guarantee that they will care for your cat willingly and well during your absence.

If you can cover all these points, your cat should have a happy stay and be returned to you as healthy as when they went into the cattery. You will have enjoyed your break secure in the knowledge that your pet is being well cared for and loved and will be pleased to see you on your return. Post a comment about your experiences of boarding catteries - good or bad - so that other owners will know what to look out for in the future