12/09/2023
Hi Cat friends,
I hope everyone is doing well. I haven’t heard from some of you in a while! But then, you haven’t heard or seen much from me on here, so there’s that. Business as usual, but with some changes.
Ok, so I need to post this and pin it to the top of the page.
This is a housekeeping post, but also informational. There’s just a lot of little things slowly piling up that I want to address. It’s a bit of a long read, but for those immediately worried - NO - I’m not shutting down. Periodically I need to post these, otherwise my life becomes far too complicated to run this business… I can get very stressed out and even fall into pits of anxiety from too many things out of my control happening all at once. I’m sure many of you understand.
I’ll start with the “negative” stuff and then finish up with the positive stuff!
I appreciate that sometimes you fill out the online booking form (or call it in) for a stay at the Cattery, but before sending the deposit, you find other arrangements for your cats. Most of the time this happens with first time bookers. But please, if you make that decision, tell the kennel you’ve booked at (whether it’s the Cattery or any other kennel) that you have made other arrangements. I’ve turned away people thinking that I was just waiting for your deposit. I could easily fill that spot before you get a chance to send in the deposit, but I give people a chance. I don’t want to change my policy to enforce a small window of time before I fill the booking with the next person in line. It’s not a friendly business practice.
The Cattery business line has been down due to specific circumstances. But it will be up again, hopefully soon (the alternate number is currently listed in a Google search). It is and always has been a landline, not a cell number. In the past I’ve had a number of clients a bit upset with me that I didn’t respond to their texts. I’m going to be blunt here: Brick and mortar businesses generally have landlines. Landlines are not meant for texting! I have never indicated otherwise. Please ask for my cell number if you want a text update on your furry friends (I am going to add this to my booking e-mails). In 2023, you’d think technology would be better, but I feel it’s significantly worse on the telecom side. Over the past few years there were numerous instances where my telecom provider dropped the ball. I’ve seen posts from other businesses saying the same thing, so it’s not just me.
The “eyejest” e-mail address is not meant for communicating with the Cattery. It is strictly used for e-transfers. By e-mailing me there, you run the risk of ending up in the spam folder. Please use the one I contact you with for booking details. If I am contacted through the eyejest address, it may go unanswered because I might not see it come in. I don’t want to make your life difficult by not answering!
I have had some potential new clients call and feel turned off by the fact that their cats would be spending time in a whole room by themself (with me visiting them throughout the day, obviously - it’s literally my job). When the Cattery was in a commercial space, they were staying in condos that I described as oversized closets (or condos the size of an ensuite bathroom, if we’re talking about the family condos). They would get let out into a space about the size of a bedroom, but with no windows unless they could go upstairs. And in many cases they would still see all the other cats. This is how most cat kennels are laid out. But NOW, by default your cats are in a bedroom sized room for their whole stay. If you’d rather your cat spend most of their time in a much smaller space, there are alternatives to my service. I feel the cats who have stayed with me since downsizing have enjoyed their stay much more than ever before, because it feels like home. And my regulars haven’t indicated having an issue with this.
As for booking with the Cattery, I ask that you use the online booking form (there’s a shorter one for existing clients) if at all possible. With all of this accessible technology, I get booking requests by text, two different e-mail addresses (see above), Facebook messenger, Google messenger (which is atrocious but necessary), phone (which is cool), voicemail (not terrible, but we still need to touch base regardless) and the booking form (which is optimal). The reason I ask this is because if it’s texted to me, and I lose my phone (which DID happen earlier in 2023), I can’t retrieve that message. The reason I prefer the online booking form is the booking shows up directly to my Cattery e-mail inbox and I can easily process them from there. It’s practically fool proof. It also ensures you are giving me all the details I need, like whether it’s an AM or PM drop or pickup. Especially now, with such a limited number of spaces, I may have a cat going home in the morning and that is the only space available for the cat coming in later that afternoon. It’s quite the juggling act. I get a lot of text messages and so your request may get lost down the list of incoming texts. And given the reliability of Facebook, I simply don’t get notifications of new messages. I do have an arrangement with a couple of you for booking via Facebook (and that’s fine), so don’t feel like you’re being singled out..
On to the positives…
I am planning on upgrading some of my flatscreen TVs to ones modern enough to run Chromecast devices (or “smart” Bluray players), which will mean every room will have a TV capable of playing Youtube critter videos. If ever there was a reason to book with the Cattery, that’s gotta be up there.
I am also in the process of building an outdoor catio. You know, that feature I couldn’t offer before when the Cattery was at a commercial location. If your cat behaves (isn’t aggressive or angry at the world), and you wish for them to safely spend some time outside, this will be free of charge. This catio will be about 6 feet wide, 8 feet long, and 8-10 feet tall, facing south (lots of sun!). It will have a solid roof (a mild rain won’t be a problem, but your cats would definitely be brought in if a storm was coming). There will be a water fountain like what I had at the old location. It will have a lock on the door so that if I am not out there with them, no one else can creep in and let them out or any other terrible thing that would result in me hunting down the perp and changing their life. I would also not leave the property while they’re out there! This will be a prototype to prove I can build one. Once I’m happy with the build quality and the process, I will be offering custom catios through my cat furniture side of the business.
Speaking of cat FURniture, Purroducts Central has been developing a number of exciting new purroducts like various cat room wall features and of course there’s that prototype catio I’ll be showing off soon enough (I hope). And I have made improvements to some of my assembly processes, including the ability to make certain parts of a tree come apart using fasteners. You can find many of the new things I have built for clients on the Purroducts Central Instagram page.
And now for what’s probably the most exciting news for some of you. As some of you already know, I now offer an in-home service called MeowCheck. MeowChecks are performed twice a day (15 minutes each) or once a day (half hour). You can stagger your booking to be every other day, or every third day, or of course every day (or whatever combination you need). While there, I also check to ensure the doors and windows are secured. Checking for running water, if the refrigerator is running (I’ve caught ONE that wasn’t!), and other issues to report are all a part of my visits. But make no mistake, this is not a formal home watch service. As someone with YEARS of feline experience and pet first aid, I am there for your cats! The other stuff is simply a bonus, and it’s good for your homeowners/renters insurance. This insured and bonded service has proven to be quite popular. Some of the existing Cattery clients have switched over, as their cats hate car rides or other cats/cat smells/changes of scenery. This is also the more economical option if you have more than one cat, as I charge a flat rate regardless of how many cats you have! You can keep up to date with MeowCheck by searching that name on Facebook.
Lastly, I just want to thank everyone who has kept using the Cattery since downsizing, and I am super happy to welcome all the new clients who have since returned a number of times (awesome that there have been many!). I haven’t been sharing the Community Votes or Best Of Red Deer voting links because I am at a point where if the people vote, they vote. I don’t need to win a popularity contest at this point. But if you do find those pages, thank you for the votes!
Stay Calm And Meow On!
