Rescue Centre - need input

Hi all
As you may know I recently took a pair of cats from a friend who was moving away, well I have fallen in love with them and now want to try and help other cats in our area.

This mission has been made a lot easier since I actually own a rescue centre (a good friend of mine managers it along with some volunteers but I set it up and fund it). The rescue centre currently has a large kennel block (big kennels not big numbers) which houses 15 dogs.

On the site when I brought it was a cattery - this has been empty for 9.5 months since I was going to get it demolished but never did, so I went down to have a look at it and after paying some local builders to come in and replace some locks and such like it's actually in fantastic condition - like literally new! There are 20 chalets with attatched runs, sneeze barriers, and each chalet is easily big enough for a pair of cats though the liscense for the premise will only allow 30 cats.

I've spoken to the manager who is excited about opening it up as a rescue and I've also spoken to a very excited volunteer who would love to run it. Now I would like some input from all of you cat owners/volunteers.

What sort of beds do rescues use - plastic with bedding,fabric,raised,flat ...
What sort of litter boxes - covered or open
Type of litter - do you know any cheap brands?
Feeding bowls - plastic, stainless steel, ceramic ....
Type of food - dry, wet, good quality fairly cheap brand suggestions ....

Also did they provide the cats with scratching posts or any toys or anything else that I haven't mentioned?

Did the rescues have a policy on which cats would be taken in (especailly relevant for non-kill shelters like ours) or did they take any animal?

Any help would be much appreciated from any experience you may have
Thankyou

PS sorry for such a long post

Just from what I know...
Far as litter boxes I would go with open and either the traditional plastic or get restraunt style steel buffet pans.

Litter would depend if they are staying long term or short term(long term would get clumping if old enough IMO and short terms either a basic clay or pine pellets)

Bowls I would use stainless steel. Last a LONG time(still have some 5 yo bowls)

Food I would go with something your adopters would continue to feed in your area. to cheap they may be sickly to expensive and you may end up with issues when they are rehomed.

Thanks for the quick reply

I've found some relatively cheap stainless steel bowls (the same person who we bought the dog's bowls from is willing to do a deal) so I think I'll order 40 of them.

Still on the look out for the food though - really not sure what I should be looking for?

It's best to use towels for beds because they can be washed easily.
Open litterboxes
Plain non-clumping clay is cheapest I think. It might be the most economical too, because you could just put a little in wash litterbox and dump it all in a day or two.
Steel or ceramic. Plastic can cause feline acne.
Dry is most economical but wet is best for them. Whatever you can afford, I say.

Thanks for the reply

I have now bought:
40x stainless steel bowls
30x heavy duty plastic beds
40x towels (got them really cheap from a very nice shopkeeper)
20x scratching posts
20x stainless steel litter boxes

We have ordered our first lot of cat litter - it's just a plain unclumping litter and the first bag of food - dry cat food but a premium brand with great ingridients

I have also bought a selection of toys including catnip mice, balls, feather poles, laser pointers and cat treat balls.

The cat chalets all have attatched runs which overlook a garden. I've bought three water fountains and a bird feeding station (complete with a 12.5kg sack of bird feed). I'm also in the process of getting some plants to brighten it up and hopefully attract insects like butterflies - the plan is the garden will be a living, moving entertainment for the cats.

On Sunday we will be picking up our first pair of residents - two tabby sisters whose owner can no longer afford to have them but doesn't want them in the pound. One of our volunteers went to meet them and apparently they are both very friendly lap cats so I tihnk they're a good pair to start with - fingers crossed we'll be able to find them a new home soon .....

I just want to say, thank you so much for taking the time and effort to open a cat shelter, especially a no-kill one. You are truly a wonderful person for doing this, and your work will save a lot of kitty lives. I am sure many in your community will be thankful for what you're doing.

Thankyou for those lovely comments

We picked up the two sisters on Sunday and let them settle in to their chalet together. They had a bit to eat - accepted a few cuddles and just got use to the place. Today the ate a proper breakfast (yay) and have had loads of cuddles - one of the volunteers moved a chair into their run and stayed playing and stroking and just being with them for 90 minutes plus in the morning and again in the evening. I went down to see them with a few catnip mice which were very well received. I know that when we get more cats they won't get the same amount of attention but it's good for these two, especailly as they're so friendly.

Apparently we've got lots of pretty pictures which will be uploaded onto our site soon and I'm going to start spreading the word about these two and see if any homes come up. But so far so good - I hope they find a new loving home soon!

Just want to pass along my gratitude for starting a rescue for cats . And to wish you the best of luck getting everything set up and running. May the lucky kitties who find their way to your new rescue find new loving, forever homes quickly

Where are you located? Rather.. the shelter? and thank you for doing such a wonderful thing!