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ABOUT YOUR RESORT HOSTS ...
Tricia and Barry Hunter are the owners and creators of the COZY CATTERY Boarding Resort Just for Cats! But this isn’t their first Boarding Cattery. It all started in Grass Valley, California, in 1987 ...
Barry, who is an Engineer and a Builder, designed a "cats only" boarding facility (with close, over the shoulder supervision from Tricia) that would meet the needs and comforts of cats. At that time, most Dog boarding kennels boarded cats as a favor for their dog owner clients, but provided only small metal cages, usually in a dark room next to the kennel runs. The cats would be forced to listen to their mortal enemy barking all day. The cages were only one level and so small that the cat usually would end up sleeping in its litter box. The Kennel owners felt that there was "no money in boarding cats" and so only provided the bare minimum. "Dog people" understood how to care for dogs, but most of them didn’t know the first thing about cat care.
Also, at this time, since there really wasn’t any other place to board cats, the Veterinary hospitals would help out by boarding healthy cats in the same clinic cages as the sick or recovering hospitalized cats. The owners believed that their Veterinarian, whom they knew and trusted, would take care of their cat and that if their cat should become ill, as least the Doctor was right there for treatment. In fact, the Veterinarian was always too busy for this chore and it was delegated to the minimum-wage worker who merely cleaned the small, metal cages once a day. Again, the cat would sleep in the litter box, often stressed with the sounds and smells of a hospital. In addition, since cats are very prone to upper respiratory airborne diseases, the boarded cats often DID get sick---which increased the cost of boarding and the anxiety of the owner.
Tricia came up with the idea of providing a special boarding place where cats could relax and enjoy their stay in a luxury setting (which most cats feel they deserve!) while their people were away. They would come in healthy and go home healthy---and since Tricia has always been a "Cat Lady," they would receive all the petting and pampering that they were used to getting at home. Instead of stress or barking, they would get soft music and soothing smells. ... And so, "The COUNTRY CATTERY" was opened and quickly became a success (even through a recession!).
After a few years of boarding, it became apparent that cat owners had many reasons why they chose to board their cats rather than leave them home in the care of a neighbor, friend or relative. Some examples of awful, but true stories ...
"We had a cat that wandered off because no one was home. We never found her."
"The teenager we hired forgot to come by to feed/water our cat---new boyfriend."
"The neighbor didn’t recognize that our cat had an abscess. He was near death
when we got home."
"During our move to the new house, the cat ran off and hid in all the confusion."
"The neighbor kid just thought the cat wasn’t hungry. He left the same food out, and
didn’t notice that it was full of maggots. She nearly starved to death."
"Our cat slipped out, was "found" and taken to the Shelter. He was held there for 72
hours and then put down. We found out after we got back from our vacation."
"The house was really torn up by our cat while we were gone. I guess she was lonely
or bored."
"My sister just thought our cat was timid and hiding somewhere. Turns out he had
caught his collar on a bed spring. He was really dehydrated."
After 10 years of boarding cats in California, Tricia and Barry decided to sell their home and Cattery and move to Northern Nevada (and to date, the Country Cattery, with the new owner, is still boarding the cats of Grass Valley). But it wasn’t long before they realized that the Reno/Sparks area desperately needed a Boarding Cattery too. And so, a state-of-the-art boarding facility, with high tech benefits such as Internet Camera Viewing for the owners, was created. Because of their experience with their first Boarding Cattery, they were able to improve on the design of the lodgings so that they are roomier and safer for their cat guests while still keeping the "pampering" aspects that their cat guests loved.
On November 22, 2004, the "COZY CATTERY Boarding Resort Just for Cats!" opened with just 6 Log Cabin Lodgings and a Playroom. By the first weekend in June, 2005, all 90 Log Cabins were finished and ready for the Grand Opening celebration.
Tricia and Barry love to watch the expression on the faces of the cat owners who take the "Purrsonal" tour of the COZY CATTERY before boarding their cat(s). The comment most often heard is simply ... "WOW!"
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