2019 At The Great Catsby: A year in review

As we enter 2020 I will embark on my third full year since opening The Great Catsby. Since opening back in 2017 I have made it my mission to provide the best care and boarding cattery service available so that cats, and their owners, can have a stress free holiday. However, each year just gets better and better for me. I am lucky to have more and more people trust with their kitties, and I get to see those regular faces several times throughout the year. Here are my best bits from 2019 at The Great Catsby.

Room upgrades

At the beginning of the year, I decided to improve the experience for all my guests at The Great Catsby. After noticing how much time the cats spent watching the birds and the fish on the TV’s in the corridor I decided to install mini-screens in each room.

The cats are able to watch a variety of small prey feeding close up, this provides enrichment to their day, especially when the balcony is off-limits due to bad weather or when its night. It’s funny watching the cats mesmerised with the moving images. I’ve listed some of our favourite videos suitable for cats here.

In the press

In April 2019 I was approached by a journalist who asked if they could tell my story from changing careers to building my business. Of course, I obliged. I had been featured in the Wigan Today the previous year, but this was for a national newspaper.

I spoke to the journalist over the phone and told her all about my own cat Lola and why I wanted to create a luxury cat hotel. She then arranged for a photographer to come and take some photos.

The photographer arrived from London, the next day and he got to work trying to get some shots of the cats at The Great Catsby as well as my own cats.

The article was printed in the Sunday Express on 14th April which was very exciting. Rachel Spencer, the journalist that wrote the story also mentioned it in her blog, Rachel Spencer Writes, here. And, as well as appearing on page 2 the editor also made a separate comment, scroll to the bottom of the articles to read the comments.

On the radio

So this might surprise some as I kept it a bit of a secret but following on from the Sunday express article I was approached by Talk Radio to appear on Paul Ross’ late late early early show. I was a nervous wreck waiting for the allocated time, around 11 pm for the recording, although it wouldn’t be broadcast until later that night. Here’s what I had to say if you’re interested.

Happy Cats

Over the space of 2019 I’ve had the pleasure of looking after almost 300 cats. Many of the cats have been enjoying holidays at The Great Catsby since I opened in 2017. However, during 2019 I was introduced to lots of newcomers.

I take hundreds of photos of cats each day so that I can send updates. It’s impossible to pick out my favourite moments but some pictures are definitely more memorable and make me smile. Here are just 9 of my favourite images from 2019.

Very Important Cats

This year I launched the VIC (Very Important Cats) membership. This was my way of thanking those that regularly let me look after their babies. The VICs, many of which have been coming since I opened get 10% off every booking, priority booking for my busiest periods plus other special goodies.

Alfie is just one of my VIC’s who I get to spend a lot of time with, although I’m sure If you look through my social media pages you’ll be able to spot the other familiar faces.

Goodbye

As with any year, there are a number of guests that I said bye to without realising that it would be the last time I’d see them. I was informed that Edward, Marley, Ralph, and Blackie sadly all crossed over the rainbow bridge in 2019. Coco moved away meaning that it wasn’t feasible to come to The Great Catsby anymore. Bella, after losing Marley moved to Cornwall to follow her mum’s dream of retiring by the beach.

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