A CATTERY IN SPAIN

Chapter Four

CHAPTER FOUR

Enhancing the garden and building the cattery

                The drive can accommodate six cars easily we decided to put a high wall around the boundary of the property for security and privacy. The garden is mature with many trees (including a lemon, fig, olive, camelia, almond and newly planted fruit trees, all surrounding the pool), shrubs, jasmine, bougainvillea etc. At the front of the house are mature palm trees, oleander, a massive rubber tree which provides much shade and a monkey tree. The ground has been covered with plastic and then gravel, so is easy maintenance. There are too many terraces to mention, including one between the two catteries.

        In 2005 we constructed a cattery at the rear of the garden which could accommodate 30 cats for boarding. The cattery was full at Christmas time every year and about half full the rest of the year. We built up a regular client base of people travelling back to the UK, going on holiday or in some cases a hospital operation. Some cats stayed for around 6 months whilst awaiting their Pet Passports.

            Just in front of the cattery was a brick built building suitable for converting into a 1 bed/studio flat but builders were quoting over 60,000 euros. The walls were plastered and the floor tiled.  In the end we used it for storage of cat baskets, cat food and litter, as well as clean cat bedding.

        At the time of building the cattery, I was working in the advertising department of an English language newspaper and as staff was entitled to a special deal on advertisements.  I placed an advert to put our toes in the water and see what happened.

            Our first clients were a lovely couple in the village and their cats Mac and Maisie arrived one day.  The first cats to set paw in the cattery.  They kept each other company, although Maisie was the more dominant one, often hitting the dustpan and brush with her front paws.  She would also use those trusty paws on Mac.  Their owner Roy told us Maisie lost her tail before they took them into their home.  I had little experience with Siamese cats at the start of the cattery and had heard they can make a strong wining noise.  What would the neighbours think?  Mac and Maisie proved that tale to be wrong and were quiet as mice.

        Then there was the beautiful Burmese called Merlin.  Her owners doted on him and he was a quiet beauty with a very calm nature who was unique. When Merlin died the owners were devastated and soon found a Burmese breeder living further south.  They brought back a tiny handful of Burmese kitten and called him Valentino.  He became known as Tino and had a different personality to Merlin.  Tino could be quite bad tempered, even with his owners but wasn’t violent.  He just wanted you to keep out of his space, clean his cage and keep him supplied with Sheba and fresh cold water.  

            Merlin, and then Tino’s owners would travel to the UK once a month where they had a business.  We took care of the cats for a week or so.  At other times they would go to see a rock concert somewhere in Spain and leave the cat for an overnight stay.