Cattery Winchester

Busy times at the Cat Hotel

September 1, 2019
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by Jackie
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in News
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What a hectic month August has been, we haven’t stopped playing and loving cats all month! We have had a really lovely lot of guests throughout August. Some have been many times, others it’s their first time  and we have enjoyed every second of them all. It’s still really sad when they leave but lovely to know that they will be back. September is another really busy month and we have a tiny kitten staying at the moment, he is totally adorable and a total timewaster! We have a number of regular guests who stay every September coming in and it will be lovely to see them again too.

The diary is already filling up quickly for next year so if you have any dates please let us know as soon as possible, some dates are already full up and we don’t like having to turn our lovely regulars away.

The donkeys are full of mischief at the moment and are loving the last of the hot days. They are also loving the bucket of apples they get each day which have fallen from our trees! I’ve never seen so many apples on the trees but between us, the donkeys and the birds they are not going to waste. The crows sit at the top of the trees knocking them down and then flying off with them, that’s if the chickens haven’t got there first!

Our lovely deer family are always here, it’s so lovely to have been able to see the twins growing up and to see them with their Mum and Dad playing in the field each night is so special. They are so used to us now that they just watch us and we can get quite close to them. We adore living here surrounded by animals, it really is our piece of paradise.

We have decided to give the cat hotel a makeover with new wallpaper, redecorating the paintwork and new cat trees, hopefully this will be completed by Christmas and I can’t wait.

Have a wonderful month,

Jackie xx

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March Madness at Hotel Cat

March 27, 2019
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by Jackie
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in News
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We have had another hectic month and loved every second of it. Our biggest bit of news is that we had our inspection from the local council. It has changed this year as Defra are now overseeing the licences so it is a lot more involved. They have implemented a star rating for all kennels, catteries and home boarders and we are very proud to announce that we are the ONLY 5 star rated cattery in the district. We are over the moon and can’t wait for our certificate to arrive.

This week has been full of cats on medication, it’s funny as some weeks it is full of a particular breed or colour and other weeks it’s a high medicine week. We have two guests on thyroid medicine twice daily, one cat with kidney failure who has medicine three times a day, one on atopica and another who is on a combination of herbal remedies to slow her chronic condition down. Added to that three lots of our guests are on feeds six times a day, it’s non -stop!

The donkeys are absolutely loving the warmer weather and are outside most of the day. They all had spring haircuts today and their feet were trimmed so they are all looking very smart. Percy is still loving his walks around the lanes, we are getting further each time and have met some lovely people on route who always want to give him a fuss.

My Marathon training has had a bit of a set back as I strained my hamstring. I  had to cut back on my mileage and have only just started to increase again. We did 16 last Sunday and are hoping for at least 20 this Sunday (Mothers Day!). I am under the strict instructions of a physio now who I see once a week, he is doing a great job of keeping me on my feet so fingers crossed I will get round in one piece.

Enjoy this wonderful weather,

Jackie xx

 

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Happy New Year!

January 23, 2019
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by Jackie
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in News
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2019 is here and fortunately January seems to be going quite quickly instead of dragging it’s heels! It is a cold but clear day here and we are hoping that there will be no snow for us this year.

We had such an incredibly busy and fun year in 2018, although the building works in the house were very trying, thank goodness they are now finished, never again!

2019 Looks like it is going to be our busiest year yet. We have shown so many new people around the Hotel since the start of the month and everyone is booking dates and they are very enthusiastic which is lovely. Fortunately most of our regular favourites have already secured their places and the diary is full in quite a few places.

My big news this month is that I have chosen the charity which I am going to raise money for by running the London Marathon in April. The charity is the Celia Hammond Animal Trust. I researched a number of charities as I wanted the majority of the money raised to go directly towards the animals and fell for this charity straight away. Please have a look at their website as they are passionate animal lovers who work tirelessly to help and support in everyway they can. I have set up a Just Giving page which is https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/jackieferrier  if you have a minute have a read of my story and I will update the page regularly.

The donkeys are all really well and spend the majority of the time in their barn next to the Cat Hotel eating and sleeping! The cats are fascinated by the donkeys and spend hours on their outside cat trees watching them. They are very fat, woolly coated and extremely cuddly and are so lovely to be with, both donkeys and cats are such peaceful animals and the calm effect they give is wonderful, I really don’t know how people cope with working in cities!

We have had a busy January filled with lovely guests who are all warm and snug in their spacious bedrooms. It is always lovely and toasty in the Hotel as the heating is left on 24 hrs a day and it is the perfect place to escape with my book leaving Tim in the house to answer the phone.

My Marathon training is going well and so far to plan. I am actually enjoying the training far more than I thought I would. I have a great friend coaching me and we are increasing mileage weekly. This week we have a 14 mile run on Sunday, last weeks was 12 miles which we did in 1hr 55 minutes. For those who also run we averaged 9.38 pace which I am thrilled with. At the moment I am hoping to complete the Marathon in under 4hrs 30mins, but obviously this is dependant on how training goes and what the weather is like on the day.

Right, I have my book and I’m back up to my gorgeous guests,

Jackie xx

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