opening up your own cattery?

I do pet sitting where I often have animals here... I so far have talked all the cat owners into letting me come to them... cats only would Not be a big $$ maker...So far I make my utility bills... If you have a kennel license( some areas require over so many animals) and a big kennel maybe.... I know a number of folks doing this and no one is making a regular/ average income for the area ...ave for here is 10-15 an hour for most jobs...

Exotics? What are you calling exotics? Small rodent type ones? (easily stressed animals) Birds aren't simple either. I sort of doubt you have experience with reptiles.. plus you can't bring them into your home without at least a separate room.
Add in issues with disease in these more sensitive animals and it's not easy.

If you're trying to look into ways to make a little extra cash, look into pet sitting.

Then you also know that since you can't vaccinate any of those animal against viruses that you can't house new animals in the same room together? It's at least a 90 day quarantine for reptiles. They are not feasible for boarding.

And I thought you were in your 20s or 30s ? (just the impression you give talking about roommates and cats) Most birds and reptiles live 10-20 years (or more)... most of what you say you kept should still be alive.


Also, if you wish to board multiple dogs (such as a dozen or more at a time), and do so responsibly, you may want to look into training for you to become a dog trainer or a degree in animal behavior unless you intend to hire someone who has this.

I've been on reptile forums for a few years. Most of the new members had the habit of providing poor care for their $20 lizard or snake, would not take them to a vet, and saw them as easily replaceable. It wasn't odd for a person to join and say they were on their 2nd or even 5th leopard gecko because the others died (and that's a 25+ year lizard).

All I'm saying is that reptiles and exotics aren't best for boarding, btw. If you wish to look into opening a boarding kennel for cats and dogs, that's different. Dogs can usually handle it, cats can be iffy. You'd see more business from dog owners anyways, though.
Trying to take a 12ft snake and it's enclosure to your kennel is a different matter. You could always offer separate sitting services for those sort of animals, though.

Well, it's certainly not a bad idea. Do some research in your area. Are there other kennels? Are there a lot of vets that providing boarding? What's the average prices? And most importantly, what do you face law wise in your county and city. (I know Cali has some odd animal laws passed in some of it's cities).
Depending on the amount of animals you wish to board you may have to move outside of town limits or at least a specific distance away from any residential communities (noise issues). I'm sure you'll need special permits/licensing, too.

Do your research thoroughly because when you want to start this you'll likely find yourself presenting that to a bank so you can get a loan to buy/lease the building you need and start your business.

Again, try some pet sitting first. You may not even like having to take care of other people's pets as much as you think you will.

I worked at a dog kennel for 3 years and had a close family friend that runs another pet boarding facility.
The one I worked at only had dogs, and we did make a lot of money with it. (actually I was there yesterday and they have purchased their 2nd building and will be opening that one soon) BUT there were a lot of risks. We didnt know it was going to survive. When I started there were many days when there were more employee's then dogs. But once word got out we started taking off quickly! Plus we were an open play and social environment so that made people very happy! We averaged about 40 dogs per day, and 20 overnight campers.
The one a friend owns does cats, but she usually has maybe 5 at a time when she has room for ~20. Dog wise she has about 50 a day and about 15-20 overnights. She also did birds but rarely ever had any.
It also greatly depends on the area of the country you are in, and how many of the same type of businesses are around. We were lucky in that there were only 2 others in the area and one got shut down due to poor conditions and a whole mess of a faked robbery and all sorts of stuff and the owners are currently in jail.
If you are in a very pet friendly city, then it will go over better. But most people (myself included) prefer for their cats to stay in an area they are comfortable with and not travel. Mine get super freaked out so when we go out of town we have someone come over daily to play with them and take care of them.

SOOO VERY TRUE! Some people treat their pets just like children to the point of being insane about it. We had a lady who refused to pay us for keeping her dog for a week because we had to move the dog out of the room it was in. (We had to do some maintenance in it) She had come in when she dropped the dog off and positions her beds (yes plural) and all of her toys and put a specific dvd in for the dog, and she was beyond angry that we moved everything .
And we also had onces that counted the amount of kibble they got per feeding. Ones that got fed dry + wet + green beans + pumpkin + vitamins + suppliments.. and all sorts of other very crazy stories!

^That's a people problem, though. There's no accounting for human behaviors. Though, bad human behavior can lead to bad dog behavior which can be hard to control - hence my earlier suggestion of training on how to handle that.

I would never have a cattery. I hate the litterbox. Plus, many cats get stressed out in environments like that which lead to URI and UTI's and other stuff I wouldn't want to see happen to people's pets. I would be more willing to watch cats in their own home/space.
I could have dogs come to my home to be watched, but my numbers would be limited as I strongly believe in keeping them as loved house pets and I would never long term kennel or keep in a small pen any dog in my care.
Birds are too high maintenance for me at least while other animals are in my care. Birds are great, but realistically most exotic birds take a lot from their caretakers to stay happy and healthy which is the whole point of taking care of animals.
Reptiles I could do, but also I would have to limit the number as they take a lot of space and would need a room away from a lot of activity.
I think you need to make a business plan. The idea is the start, but the business plan is where you see if this is feasible. It takes money and a huge investment of time and heart.

See that doesn't bother me at all. I kind of think that is cute!

I have another idea to propose. Why not just market straight to the people that will pay ridiculous fees - dog owners. And just stick with dogs.

Have you ever considered a doggie daycare?

http://search.conduit.com/Results.as...ctid=CT2642702

That is a simple google search for your city

I don't know anything about boarding cats or how to start up that kind of business. However, if you do go ahead with it you might want to rethink what you call it. When I saw you thread title my first thought was that you should have posted in the breeder's forum. "Cattery" is the term used by people who actually breed cats, not just board them.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

May well depend on where you live, here "cattery" is accepted for both boarding and breeding purposes.