Click the tabs below to view our company policies
General Terms of Business
Per Diem …our day rates are charged on a fully inclusive ‘per diem’ basis; including maid service, food and drink (excluding prescription diets)’ cat litter, heating and veterinary insurance.
Cats Sharing …sharing of accommodation is only available to cats from the same household with compatible dispositions.
Neutered/Spayed …cats over six months of age are only accepted if they have been neutered or spayed.
Minimum Charges …although less than three day stays are welcomed, a minimal three day accommodation charge is made throughout the year with the exception of the year end festive holiday period and the new year breaks when a minimum seven day charge is made together with 25 per cent deposit required required at the time of booking.
Deposits & Advances …at certain times of the year customers will be required to provide a non-returnable deposit to secure a booking and/or they may also be required to pay the cattery’s full contracted booked boarding period fee, also non-returnable, during especially busy periods.
Release Fees …cats cannot be released until full payment has been received.
Early Pick-Ups …although collection prior to the contracted departure date is not a problem, please note release fees include the day of arrival, the day of departure and all run over days requested too.
Tariff Changes …please be aware that if you are booking boarding many months in advance, our tariff may have altered from the time of booking to when you board, as our fees are currently reviewed every three months to reflect the fast changing energy and food costs.
Transport …cats must be transported in a secure and suitable pet carrier.
Contact Number/s …our cattery will require at least one phone and/or mobile number of a friend, relative or the owner/s in the event of any travel delays or unforeseen problems.
Belongings …all personal belongings deposited at our cattery are left at the owner’s risk.
Treatments …any treatment/s deemed necessary for a cats comfort and well being, for example, worming, flea treatment, etc, will be carried out at the management’s discretion and charged to the owner/s prior to the cat’s release.
Vaccinations …cats will not be accepted for boarding without their current vaccination card for immunisation against flue and enteritis; if you are unsure whether your cat’s vaccinations are up to date, please contact your veterinary surgery.
Medical History …owners must inform our cattery at the time of booking or arrival of any medical history.
Medications …our cattery will administer medication to manageable cats. However, should a cats risk causing harm to our cattery staff or to itself whilst medication is trying to be administered, making it impossible to treat the cat, then it will be necessary for the cat to be cared for by a veterinary surgeon, either at our cattery, or at the veterinary surgery. Any veterinary fees incurred in this situation will be charged to the cat’s owner/s prior to release.
Refusals …our cattery staff reserve the right to refuse admission of any cat/s who in their opinion show any signs of illness, pending veterinary advice.
Grooming …the grooming of cats will be carried out as necessary, and it is appreciated if owners have their own grooming equipment that they bring it in with their cat/s. However, our cattery will not be responsible for grooming any cat/s that get distressed or risk causing harm to our staff whilst being groomed.
Insurance …our cattery will be responsible for any veterinary fees incurred through a problem developing with any cat/s whilst being boarded. Our cattery will not be responsible for any veterinary fees incurred whilst boarding for a cat/s that entered our cattery with an ongoing or reoccurring medical condition, and these fees will be charged to the owner/s.
Illness …in the event of illness and/or accident our cattery veterinary surgeon will be called to attend and/or the cat/s may be removed to the veterinary surgeon’s care at the discretion of the proprietor/s and/or the management of our cattery. If contacting the owner/s or their representative/s is not possible, any treatment deemed necessary will be carried out without the owner/s consent.
Responsibility …whilst every care and precaution is taken with every cat/s boarded at our cattery, the proprietor/s and/or management cannot be held responsible for any illness, disease, accident or death that may occur during boarding.
Company Policies
BRANKLEY CATTERY
COMPANY POLICY
Licensing and Legal Guidance
BRANKLEY CATTERY is licensed by East Staffordshire Borough Council in accordance with Guidelines for Cat Boarding Establishments as outlined by the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health. The Guidelines adhere to legal requirements set out under the Animal Boarding Establishments Act 1963 and the Animal Welfare Act 2006.
1. The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) Regulations 2018
The 2018 Act requires anyone who wishes to keep a boarding establishment (i.e. in this contact a cattery) to be licensed by the local authority and abide by the conditions of the license. If they do not they are in breach of the law. In particular the local authority will consider the ability of the establishment to ensure:
-Accommodation is suitable as respects construction, size, number of occupants, exercising facilities, temperature, lighting, ventilation and cleanliness.
-Adequate supply of suitable food, drink and bedding material for the animals and that they are adequately exercised, and visited at suitable intervals.
-All reasonable precautions are taken to prevent and control the spread of infectious or contagious diseases, including the provision of isolation facilities.
Appropriate steps are taken for the protection of animals in the case of fire or other emergency.
-A detailed register is maintained of any animals received into the establishment that is available for inspection at all times.
Those responsible for a cattery must ensure that a copy of the license and its conditions (maximum number of cats and number of holding units) is displayed prominently in the boarding establishment. No animals other than cats are to be boarded within the licensed facilities without the written approval of the local authority.
2. Animal Welfare Act 2006
Sections 1 and 2 of the 2006 Act set out which animals are protected. This includes any animal (vertebrate) other than man (section 1) which is commonly domesticated in the British Isles, or under the control of man whether on a permanent or temporary basis, or is not living in a wild state (section 2). Thus cats and kittens are protected by this piece of legislation.
Section 3 of the 2006 Act sets out who can be found to be responsible for an animal and this includes on a permanent or temporary basis as well as being in charge of it or owning it. Therefore, the establishment owner as well as their employees can be found liable under this piece of legislation. No one under the age of 16 years can be deemed to be responsible for an animal.
Section 4 of the 2006 Act sets out offences concerning unnecessary suffering. An offence is committed here if someone’s act or failure to act causes an animal to suffer, whether the person knew (or ought to have reasonably known) that the act (or failure to act) was likely to cause such suffering – it is still an offence as the suffering was unnecessary . An offence can also be committed whereby someone permits this to happen. Again, this can apply to not just employees of an establishment but also an owner. In particular the suffering may be deemed unnecessary if it could reasonably have been avoided or reduced, if it was not in compliance with relevant legislation, license, or codes of good practice, if it was not for a legitimate purpose, if it was not proportionate, if it was not the conduct of a reasonably competent and humane person.
Under Section 9 of the 2006 Act those responsible for animals (in England and Wales) have a duty to ensure reasonable steps are taken to ensure the welfare needs of the animals are met to the extent required by good practice, this includes:
-Its need for a suitable environment,
-Its need for a suitable diet,
-Its need to be able to exhibit normal behavior patterns,
-Any need it has to be housed with, or apart from, other animals, and
-Its need to be protected from pain, suffering, injury and disease.
Other Legislation which is relevant to the running of.
Training
All Brankley Cattery staff who handle and care for cats are trained in ensuring the cats welfare (as per the Anima l Welfare Act) as well as their safe handling. All staff are briefed on emergency procedures, general handling and care procedures along with any updates to operation procedures and policies made throughout the year.
Supervision/Responsibility
The owners of Brankley Cattery live on site and will be present on a daily basis to exercise supervision and deal with emergencies whenever cats are boarded at the premises. Emergency staff and additional key holders also live within a 1 mile radius of the cattery site. An emergency contact number is provided to all clients on booking and a number posted at the entrance to the cattery site for public reference.
Housing
All cats are housed in our custom – built luxury cat enclosure on site. Separated into individual pens, the cattery is constructed in UPVC panels and is 4 x glazed to ensure a safe, disease free, draught free environment. Heated cabins in each pen are controlled with individual temperature monitors and each pen has an individual light to cause minimal disruption to neighboring animals. The pens are well-equipped with bedding, feeding area and litter trays. Each pen also caters for the cat’s stimulation and exercise needs through provision of shelving, climbing areas, scratch posts and toys.
-The cattery is constructed with a safety corridor to prevent escape and with glass separations between pens to minims disease spread and stress to cats.
-An isolation pen is available on site for any cat needing isolation from other animals.
-The construction allows for straightforward hygiene management by the owners.
-All cat units include sleeping accommodation (with solid sides) and an individual attached run.
-Full height, full width, sneeze barriers between units.
-Ancillary facilities including a separate kitchen with hot and cold running water and refrigeration for food, a separate hand-washing facility for staff and a litter tray cleaning area.
Sharing
Cats from different households will never ever share cat units. Family pens are provided for cats from the same household where preferred by the owner.
Access
Access to the cat units are via a door leading to the safety corridor. The entrance door must be closed and locked on entry before any individual cat unit doors are unlocked or opened. It is the staff member’s responsibility to ensure that this procedure is followed to avoid any escape from cats. Pens will only be opened individually, one at a time to prevent any cats from different household coming into contact.
Each unit is numbered and these correspond to information boards in the ancillary buildings which details the relevant information on each cat.
Litter Trays
All units are provided with one litter tray per cat. Litter trays are filled with appropriate wood or gravel based cat litter and are situated at least 60cm distance from the resting and feeding areas.
Litter trays are cleaned a minimum of twice a day and monitored for additional cleaning as appropriate.
Bedding and Sleeping Accommodation
Each unit is equipped with an enclosed separate sleeping unit with adequate hiding space. These are separate to the exercise run areas in ‘Walk In’ style areas. Access is through cat flap.
Each unit is equipped with a choice of open or enclosed luxury cat bed.
Shelving/Raised Viewing Area
Each unit is equipped with a large, full-height exercise run and a viewing shelf accessed by a ramp. Shelving is adequate for cats to sit and lie on with views to the exterior garden site.
Temperature in Sleeping Accommodation
Each unit is equipped with a thermometer detailing the temperature of the sleeping accommodation. Temperature of the cattery building is centrally monitored with automatic heating and cooling settings, keeping the overall temperature above 18 °C.
Windows at the front of the building are fitted with a mesh panel to allow for fresh air to flow through the building. Each window has a clear PVC panel insert to be used in cold weather.
Safety On Site
Fire and Other Emergencies
Appropriate steps will be taken for the protection of the animals in case of fire and other emergencies.
The Cattery office building is equipped with a smoke detector and fire extinguisher which is easily accessible in the event of an emergency.
In instances where the cattery pen building is affected by an emergency such as fire or flood, all animals will be removed into a temporary location in their personal cat boxes. They will be housed either in the Ancillary Building or in extreme cases within the Proprietor’s garage.
Instructions on evacuation procedures are listed in the Cattery office building, along with all emergency contact numbers.
Food and Drink
Water Provision
Fresh water is provided for each cat on a daily basis in separate water bowls. Water will be changed once daily or sooner if visibly soiled. Water bowls are positioned at a distance from cat litter trays. Water bowls are kept separate from food bowls.
Food Provision
Each cat will be fed according to the owner’s preference and the cats dietary needs. Brankley Cattery provides wet and dry cat food unless the cat is on a special diet specified by their vet or owner. We will work with the owner to ensure their cats dietary requirements and eating habits are met.
All food is stored and prepared in the kitchen/store room next to the reception. As a minimum all cats will be fed 2 meals per day, 8 hours apart.
Food intake will be monitored on a daily basis and veterinary advice sought if a cat has not eaten for 2 days.
General Welfare
Monitoring Noise Levels
The Cattery environment should be as calm and quiet as possible with noise producing equipment located as far away from animals as possible.
Long Stay Cats
Cats staying in the cattery for longer than 3 weeks will be closely monitored and given regular health checks by staff. All cats staying longer than 3 weeks will be weighed on arrival and then subsequently weighed every two weeks, with measurements recorded. For elderly, infirm cats or tiny kittens the weighing process is done on a weekly basis.
Feline Company and Interactions
Cats are provided with enclosed hiding spaces enabling them to remove themselves from view of other cats. Cats from different units will not share exercise runs or areas at the same time or in sequence after each other.
Human Company and Interactions
On arrival the Cattery staff will find out from the owner and monitor each cat to ascertain how much human contact it wants and adapt to provide this to minimise stress. Enclosed hiding places are provided for cats to remove themselves to should they wish to avoid human contact.
Handling
Cats are always handled humanely and appropriately to suit the requirements of the individual cat – taking into account their age and any disability.
Multi-Cat Units
Cats in multi-cat units will be monitored to ensure that they continue to cohabit harmoniously. In the event that cats are becoming stressed in a shared situation, the proprietor will assess whether moving a cat to a separate pen would be beneficial. In these instances the owner will always be contacted.
All multi-cat units are equipped with multiple feeding bowls, litter trays and sleeping areas appropriate to the number of cats.
The maximum number of cats in one family sized unit is 4.
Monitoring Cats
All cats at the cattery are fully registered and checked in on arrival, with owners asked to provide details of all medical history and requirements. All cats will be checked regularly throughout the day and checks made for any sign of illness, injury or unusual behavior.
Regular checks will be made no more than 4 hours apart by the proprietor or staff member. Eating habits and presence/absence of faeces and urine in litter trays will be noted on the record sheet on the front of the chalet. A late-night check on heating and welfare will also be made.
Keeping Records
A register will be kept of all cats boarded and made available to key members of staff and to local authority inspectors if requested. Records are kept for a minimum of 36 months. Owners are required to notify the Cattery of their insurance details and any medical history when booking their cat into stay.
Disease Control
Full attention will be given to ensuring that the risk of transmitting disease between animals is minimised. The cattery procedure dictates that no cats will be allowed to mix with others. Movement of staff and visitors around the cattery will be minimal and where necessary will be supervised. If any rescue cats are boarded then they must be fed, changed and handled last. Where rescue cats or breeding cats are involved, extra precaution for sanitisation and cleaning must be taken to prevent the spread of disease. Where there is concern over the health of a cat, that cat must be handled last. An isolation pen is provided opposite the Cattery in the stable building.
Hygiene
All pens will be thoroughly cleaned with animal-friendly detergents before each cat arrives. Regular monitoring of the cleanliness of each pen will be made during a cats stay with any accidents, spillages or other dirt cleaned immediately.
Bedding, litter trays and feeding bowls will be kept clean and replaced as appropriate. All obvious food waste, soiled litter other soiled matter will be removed.
Litter trays and feeding bowls are never washed together. Areas are disinfected between washing the two. Litter trays are cleaned and disinfected at least once a day or more frequently if necessary.
Each unit is equipped with a separate dustpan, brush and scoop which are all disinfected prior to being used for another resident.
Scratch posts and toys are cleaned before each new resident arrives. All items provided by the owner must be returned with the cat.
Handling Cats
Hand sanitiser is available in all cat care areas and hands washed thoroughly. Hand gel must be used between handling of each cat. Gloves are provided for all staff when preparing food and cleaning areas. Kittens and young cats should be handled before adult cats.
Vaccination, Fleas, Worms and other Parasites
All cats must have up-to-date vaccinations prior to coming to the cattery. Any specific advice from vets on cats’ individual health and vaccination history will be sourced on a case by case basis.
An up-to-date veterinary health record must be provided by the owner.
Vaccinations (including boosters) must have been completed, at the very least, 2 weeks before the cat’s arrival. Homoeopathic vaccination is not acceptable.
Veterinary Treatment and Health Care
If a cat requires veterinary treatment during their stay we will attempt to contact the owner and/or their emergency contact before making an appointment with the vet. It is the owner’s responsibility to ensure that somebody who can advocate for their cat is able to respond to us immediately in case of an emergency. If we cannot contact the owner and we believe that the cat needs medical attention urgently, we will make an appointment with the vet and refer all decisions to him/her.
We are not financially responsible for any medical bills that arise during your cats stay at Brankley Cattery. All veterinary fees are the responsibility of the client and will be payable at the time of departure.
If medication is necessary, it will be given according to the dosage and frequency details set out on the medical form completed by the owner on arrival. Medication will only be used for the cat for which it is prescribed and following a veterinary surgeon’s instructions. Medications will be clearly labelled and stored safely at the correct temperature. All unused medicines will be returned to the owner on departure.
Where cats require wiping of eyes, grooming or other cleaning regimes, these will be carried out frequently enough to keep the cat clean and comfortable providing it is safe to do so.
Transportation of Animals
In the event of Brankley Cattery having to transport a cat to the vet for treatment, the vehicle used will be considered an extension of the cattery site and will be subject to the same regulations for cleanliness and safety as the cattery building.
No animal shall be transported without the use of a suitable, lockable carrier box. No animal will be left unattended in the vehicle or kept in the vehicle other than during the transportation.
Death and Euthanasia
The nominated emergency contact will be notified straight away. In the situation where a cat passes away during its stay with us, the body will be taken to your nominated veterinary practice (unless distance prevents this) to be stored until the owners return. It is up to the owner to contact the veterinary practice to arrange collection or cremation.
If a cat is presented to a veterinarian who believes it is in that cat’s best interest to be euthanized the veterinary practice or management of Brankley Cattery will contact the nominated emergency contact to discuss. Euthanasia will not take place without owners consent unless it is imperative for the cat’s welfare.
Missing Cats
If a cat was to escape Brankley Cattery a plan is set in place to ensure all is done to retrieve the cat. All veterinary practices local to the area will be informed, the microchip company will also be informed (if applicable). The grounds of the cattery will be checked vigorously where daylight allows. The nominated emergency contact will be notified in the first instance. If the cat is retrieved they will be taken to receive a full veterinary examination.
Privacy and Cookie Policy
Brankley Cattery is a luxury cat boarding and lodging service based near Barton Under Needwood, Staffordshire.
Our website address is: https://www.brankley-cattery.co.uk
Brankley Cattery does not actively collect personal data for marketing purposes. The only data we store is covered by the key lawful basis for data processing set out by ICO in the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Your name and contact information will be stored with your consent (or implied consent such as making an enquiry on our website) so that we may contact you in relation to your enquiry.
We may contact you in relation to an ongoing contract.
We have a duty of care to your pets before, during and after their stay. We are therefore required to maintain information about yourself and your pet. We will retain these records after your pets stay with us in case we need to contact you. For example if in the unlikely event that one of the cats in our care is unwell during their stay, we may need to contact you.
We may contact you in relation to legitimate business interest.
Your data will be kept on record for financial accounting purposes which we are legally required to maintain records of.
Our website uses cookies to help us to monitor traffic through our website. We use Google Analytics. All data is anonymous and no personal data is collected.
When visitors leave comments on the site we collect the data shown in the comments form, and also the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string to help spam detection.
An anonymised string created from your email address (also called a hash) may be provided to the Gravatar service to see if you are using it. The Gravatar service privacy policy is available here: https://automattic.com/privacy/. After approval of your comment, your profile picture is visible to the public in the context of your comment.
If you upload images to the website, you should avoid uploading images with embedded location data (EXIF GPS) included. Visitors to the website can download and extract any location data from images on the website.
Contact form submissions to this website are collected and processed by us. By completing the contact form you are giving us permission to contact you under the lawful basis defined as ‘legitimate business interest’. Your personal data is not used for marketing purposes. The details of your enquiry will be kept until the query has been resolved and then retained for statistical purposes. Your data will only be used by Brankley Cattery for the purpose of answering your query unless you have opted in to receive marketing communications.
We collect information about visitors who comment on Sites that use our Akismet anti-spam service. The information we collect depends on how the User sets up Akismet for the Site, but typically includes the commenter’s IP address, user agent, referrer, and Site URL (along with other information directly provided by the commenter such as their name, username, email address, and the comment itself).
Cookies are files, often including unique identifiers, that are sent by web servers to web browsers, and which may then be sent back to the server each time the browser requests a page from the server.
Cookies can be used by web servers to identity and track users as they navigate different pages on a website, and to identify users returning to a website.
Cookies may be either “persistent” cookies or “session” cookies. A persistent cookie consists of a text file sent by a web server to a web browser, which will be stored by the browser and will remain valid until its set expiry date (unless deleted by the user before the expiry date). A session cookie, on the other hand, will expire at the end of the user session, when the web browser is closed.
Google Analytics
Google Analytics Cookies on this website use the following names:
_utma
_utmb
_utmc
_utmz
The cookies named __utma through __utmz come from websites that use Google Analytics, which primarily uses it to track visits.
Cookies do not contain any information that personally identifies you, but personal information that we store about you may be linked, by us, to the information stored in and obtained from cookies.
We may use the information we obtain from your use of our cookies for the following purposes:
(1) to track you as you navigate our website;
(2) to analyse the use of our website;
__utmz stores where a visitor came from (search engine, search keyword, link)
__utma stores each user’s amount of visits, and the time of the first visit, the previous visit, and the current visit (presumably partly for double checking of this information).
__utmb and __utmc are used to check approximately how long you stay on a site: when a visit starts, and approximately ends (c expires quickly). If you look at cookie state changes (e.g. using firecookie), you will see these change regularly.
If you leave a comment on our site you may opt-in to saving your name, email address and website in cookies. These are for your convenience so that you do not have to fill in your details again when you leave another comment. These cookies will last for one year.
If you have an account and you log in to this site, we will set a temporary cookie to determine if your browser accepts cookies. This cookie contains no personal data and is discarded when you close your browser.
When you log in, we will also set up several cookies to save your login information and your screen display choices. Login cookies last for two days, and screen options cookies last for a year. If you select “Remember Me”, your login will persist for two weeks. If you log out of your account, the login cookies will be removed.
If you edit or publish an article, an additional cookie will be saved in your browser. This cookie includes no personal data and simply indicates the post ID of the article you just edited. It expires after 1 day.
This website does not send third-party cookies.
Articles on this site may include embedded content (e.g. videos, images, articles, etc.). Embedded content from other websites behaves in the exact same way as if the visitor has visited the other website.
These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with that embedded content, including tracking your interaction with the embedded content if you have an account and are logged in to that website.
On your first visit to our website, a privacy notice will appear at the bottom of the window. Click on learn more. You will be given the option to turn off/on marketing related cookies.
Most browsers allow you to refuse to accept cookies.
In Internet Explorer you can refuse all cookies by clicking “Tools”, “Internet Options”, “Privacy”, and selecting “Block all cookies” using the sliding selector;
In Firefox you can block all cookies by clicking “Tools”, “Options”, and un-checking “Accept cookies from sites” in the “Privacy” box.
In Safari you can block cookies by selecting Private browsing.
Blocking all cookies will, however, have a negative impact upon the usability of many websites.
You can also delete cookies already stored on your computer:
In Internet Explorer, you must manually delete cookie files;
In Firefox, you can delete cookies by, first ensuring that cookies are to be deleted when you “clear private data” (this setting can be changed by clicking “Tools”, “Options” and “Settings” in the “Private Data” box) and then clicking “Clear private data” in the “Tools” menu.
In Safari you can delete cookies by selecting preferences, then privacy, then details and then remove all.
Obviously, doing this may have a negative impact on the usability of many websites.
This website is based on the WordPress framework and by default, it does not share your data with anyone.
If you leave a comment, the comment and its metadata are retained indefinitely. This is so we can recognise and approve any follow-up comments automatically instead of holding them in a moderation queue.
For users that register on our website (if any), we also store the personal information they provide in their user profile. All users can see, edit, or delete their personal information at any time (except they cannot change their username). Website administrators can also see and edit that information.
If you have an account on this site, or have left comments, you can request to receive an exported file of the personal data we hold about you, including any data you have provided to us. You can also request that we erase any personal data we hold about you. This does not include any data we are obliged to keep for administrative, legal, or security purposes.
Visitor comments may be checked through an automated spam detection service. Any messages sent to us via a contact form on this website are sent by email directly to us for processing.
If you have any questions about this privacy notice, or if you wish to exercise your rights or contact the DPO (Data Protection Officer), please use the contact details on the contact us page.
From time to time we may update this Privacy Policy in line with website changes that may affect the personal information we gather about you. It is assumed that you accept such changes if you continue to use the site and services. If you do not accept such changes then you should stop using the Brankley Cattery website and services, and contact us if you would like any information removed.
Change your Cookie Settings