[Paws and manes]

Hi Folks,

I am in the motion of trying to buy a Cattery and would like to get a few opinions on different things.
1. What do other Cattery owners use for cleaning the floors in their Catteries/Pens?
2. Do you carry Frontline/Advantage, just in case you have a flea ridden Cat? (which do you find better)
3. Do you Carry a extensive range of different Cat foods?

I realise that I can ask the present owner, but I want to improve on what they do.
I know that they ask the owners what they feed their Cats and keep feeding that food to them.
Any information or hints that can be given, are gratefully accepted.

I have been a Cat owner since I was 5 years old, and get told I think more like a Cat than a human sometimes. This has always be a dream job for me, and I'm pretty good at animal husbandry as I have gone through just about everything with my furry buddies before.
It's just that this is a new venture and I do ask other that are in the same boat what they think.

Jen

[Advert]

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[Terrorbull]

Germ free, water and thats it. Cattery always smells nice and clean

we keep one brand of cat food, if people dont like, it they can bring their own

no frontline or anything

[Paws and manes]

Germ free, water and thats it. Cattery always smells nice and clean

we keep one brand of cat food, if people dont like, it they can bring their own

no frontline or anything

Hi Terrorbull,
Thanks for your reply.
Is "Germ Free" some kind of soloution?
Sorry if it sounds like a stupid question.

Jen

[jemappelle]

You need to thoroughly clean the whole pen between cats, not just the floor. I use F10 disinfectant and remember that all organic matter must be cleaned off first or the disinfectant won't be as affective. I use dishwashing detergent and water to clean the surfaces prior to disinfecting.

[Winscar]

I worked and managed a cattery in Hobart when the owners went away. We used F10 and as stated you need to do the whole pen. We stocked everything food wise and if some where on Hills wet for example and the owners brought it with them then bill was adjusted accordingly. But we had all the supermarket varietys both wet and dry and listed on their card what they liked to have. Plus fresh meat and chicken wings/necks.

We also tried to accommodate (sp) our regulars by having them in the same pen each visit.

Good luck. I found my time there wonderful. I still cherish a little plate bought back from Japan for me by an owner of an elderly furball that won my heart.

[Paws and manes]

Thanks Jemsapple and Winscar,
That's exactly what I was after. I didn't even think about the walls!!!
I have found the F10 mentioned and it sounded like a good one to me.

I have had a look through a couple of sites that supply Catteries and betwween 2 of them, I figure I could get most of what I need.

The suggestion about using the same pen for returning furries, sounds like a very good idea.

If you have any more ideas, I am very happy to learn more from those that are doing it already or have participated in the area before. I'm of the belief that you can never know enough!!!

Thanks for your replies. Muchly appreciated.

Jen

[Lotus]

You need to thoroughly clean the whole pen between cats, not just the floor. I use F10 disinfectant and remember that all organic matter must be cleaned off first or the disinfectant won't be as affective. I use dishwashing detergent and water to clean the surfaces prior to disinfecting.

This is also how I clean all my pens and carry boxes. The dishwashing detergent, or washing powder such as Biozet, is the best way to clean off grease and other organic matter before disinfecting. Then rinse well. I also add a few drops of eucalyptus oil and sometimes a small ammount of some methylated spirits to the soapy water. You can also use bleach instead of F10 (rinse well if using bleach), but F10 is terrific and can be sprayed liberally on everything and does not require rinsing off...F10 is essential in a cattery (or multicat household) of any type in my opinion. Every cat related item and every surface (& wire) in a cattery must be disinfected between cats, which is why the F10 is so handy.

This post has been edited by Lotus: 12 January 2009 - 01:02 AM

[Heather Sharada]

I used bleach but was always worried that cats might lick it off their paws - especially kittens. F10 is better for the reasons Lotus gave. You can get a pressure pump pack to spray the walls and if you can get a reasonably quiet vacuum cleaner and not terrorise the cats you can vacuum the pens near to spilt litter etc....but don't do that when the cat is in the pen........maybe if your pens have outside runs pop them outside and close the flap while you do it.

One cattery down in Victoria has new cardboard box beds for each cat that comes in (they have the cattery name printed on the box) and are thrown after each cat that comes in. The warm bedding is either supplied or they use liners that are machine washed and bleached between cats.

[burmeselover]

At the vet clinic where I work, we use the hospital grade disinfectant we use for the rest of the clinic cleaning for cages and wash bedding thoroughly between use with Napisan in the wash also.
We will apply Frontline or Advantage or Revolution (depending upon what packet is in use for single application within a consult by the vet) where we find live fleas on a cat while in our care.
We feed Hills and/or Advance wet/dry foods as preferred by the cats in our care. If our clients want us to continue to feed their cat's normal diet, we ask them to bring the food and we'll feed it to their cat. The same goes for any prescription diets their cat eats.

[Paws and manes]

Hi Lotus, Heather and Burmeselover,

Thank you so much for that information. I thought about using bleach, but I am wary of the Cats licking and I can't take the smell of it myself. (it makes me go giddy)

As to the vaccuum, none of the cats that I have had liked the sound of the Vaccuum, so, yes they would be put elsewhere. (Come to think of it, I don't like the sound of a Vaccuum either!!!)

Now, another question.
I have only ever used Frontline on my Cats. Doing the research last night, I found that there are the spot ons that also contain "Worm" killers. (Heartworm, ringworm, mites etc) One of them is "Revolution".
Can other users of the other type of "Spot-ons" give me any feedback on them?

I am so glad that I asked this question. As well as being helpful to me, it may help others that would like to know the same type of things.

I really appreciate all the answers given!!

[jemkatz]

i use frontline spray,but my mums cats had been done with this and a week later still had fleas the frontline did nothing so she has just done them with advantage so will see how that goes in a few days if its going to be more effective then the frontline is

[jemappelle]

Thanks Jemsapple and Winscar,
That's exactly what I was after. I didn't even think about the walls!!!
I have found the F10 mentioned and it sounded like a good one to me.

I have had a look through a couple of sites that supply Catteries and betwween 2 of them, I figure I could get most of what I need.

Don't forget about the roof of the pen, underneath shelves and the wire as well - they could all get sneezed on!

I would be interested to see the sites you have talked about. Would you mind sharing the links?

Also please be careful when putting flea treatments on other people's cats. You need to get their permission first as their cat may not tolerate the flea preventative you are using. I tell people that I will not take their cat if it has fleas and that they should treat their cats anyway as there is always a risk when there are other pets around.

[Paws and manes]

Hi Jemapple,

Sure, I don't mind sharing the links. Have to find them now!!!

I would be telling people when they rang up about the need to have their Cat Flea treated before hand as well as having had their shots.

I totally understand about a complete all over in the cleaning area.

The realestate guy reckons that you only need about 4 hours a day and it can be run part time.
I read that and laughed!!! Maybe at a really slow time that may happen, but normally, I doubt it.!!!

I am now researching kitty litter as well. I just read that the clumping stuff can cause problems due to the dust and Cats maybe eating it.

Right, I'll have a look for those sites now.

Jen

[Paws and manes]

Hi jemkatz,

Ooooo, you have bunnies too!!! I love bunnies, but we can't have them in Queensland.
I have heard the same thing about Frontline and was wondering about that as well. I suppose I have my 2 that can become test subjects.
I was mainly wondering about the ones that have the anti worm stuff in them, especially when it mentions heartworm.

Jen

[Paws and manes]

Okay, here's the ones I have been looking at.

Vetpetsdirect (Should be Vetnpetdirect)

Vetproductsdirect

The second one is actually on the CW home page.

Jen

This post has been edited by Paws and manes: 12 January 2009 - 05:56 PM