Financially I am not bringing in enough a month to increase my bank account. It keeps going down, smidgeon by smidgeon, and we know what this means over the long run. I considered a house mate, but frankly, I just can't do it. I need a second bathroom and a second entry to be able to tolerate someone in my living space. Personally, I'd love the company, but no, if I'm stuck downstairs, I don't want the person also having to come through my area to get to theirs.
But I still have these unused rooms upstairs, and frankly they needed an overhaul anyway. One was a guest room (closed off to protect it from cat fur, and unused, because who comes to Spencer?). And one just sat there. Both had 20 year old red carpet and a blah off-white paint job.
It occurred to me that these two rooms would make great cat boarding rooms for someone who didn't want their cat(s) in a condo or a cage. Each room is big enough for up to five cats, so if someone were going away a long while and wanted a place to keep their family of felines, well, here you go.
I ripped up the carpet. Gretchen and Nancy helped me with the vinyl. The kittens amused me as I painted. I'll likely need to call for help to paper the ceilings (they are tile board. Yick). But slowly things are coming together.
What an improvement! I recently received a gift card for professional reasons (not a kitty donation), and with that I will purchase two of these. Chairs will be covered so things can be washed between cat visits. I need to resurrect my tax ID number, as well as liability insurance.
Right now, rescued kittens Myssie and Girl Bob are living in luxury (and then have the run of the house in the evening). I figure they can test out any problems for me. The window sills need wider shelves and ramps. The electric heaters are working quite nicely at keeping the temperatures constant, unlike the rest of the house, which fluctuates due to the wood stove and air-forced furnace.
If you are planning any vacations and need a place to keep your kitties, keep me in mind!
And doesn't it figure that as soon as I ripped out the guest room, my sister stayed the night. Oh well, that's what I have a futon couch in the Great Room for!
9 comments:
Have you thought of jungle murals on the walls? That would be cool.
Look at that!!! It's looks great! You really are quite the handy one. What kitty wouldn't choose boarding in this kind of space over a cage? Nice nice work.
p.s. red carpet huh?...I'm certain you won't be missing that! :O
Great work with your cat boarding kennel you should list it on KennelSeek.com.
Oh you, whenever you post your home improvement pictures, I'm always in awe. That room looks great!
Wow, it looks so much better already! Awesome job!
It's Jody, a long shot request. Someone called me from Pennsylvania, intent on adopting a cat I have here, because his wife is in terrible grief over the loss of their 20 year old cat. He works in NJ. I have no way to get Nemo out there. Since you are in NY, wondered, by any chance, do you know anyone who travels from Portland, OR to the east coast? I know it's like asking me in a tiny town in Oregon if I know somebody in LA who travels to like W. Virginia. But I thought I'd give it a shot. I need to find someone Nemo could fly with, to maybe Scranton, or Newark. From Oregon, WA or northern CA. Just a shot in the dark is all. Great family, really adore their pets. Also, if you have a long hair loving black and white cat, I will refer them to you! You're so much closer.
Do you by any chance have a Norwegian Forest cat looking black tux up for adoption? I think these are great folks looking.
Susan, are you able to do long-term boarding? It may be that most of these people need something "free" or for a "donation" while they're in transition, and it may be that they never return - but assuming you can screen those people out, I'm sure Habitat for Cats gets requests on their hotline that we can forward to you.
Hey Laura, sadly I have "been there, done that," and I think I need to stay away from situations where people are burned out/kicked out of their homes and need someone to care for their cat until they are back on their feet again. I did that a few times, and none of the situations worked out well. In all of them, the cats were unvaccinated and untested, and I ended up paying for that, and in all of the cases the people ultimately wanted me to keep the cat. In one case, the owner died (!!!) and the police showed up in my office at work because they thought I was the next of kin. It's just a whole new area of rescue. We have kept cats for adopters in the past (one couple went to France for four months) and that works out fine. For truly long-term boarding for non-adopters, I will be asking a sizeable down payment, which will be banked in case there is an emergency. Normal boarding will be pay-at-pickup. I plan to keep this very small scale, and limited to people I know, or come to know. It needs to support the rescue, not be another form of rescue.
Hey Jody! I checked with people I know in northern CA who travel a lot, but they were just out here and are not coming back for a long while. Unfortunately I do not have a longhair black tux either (which is hard to believe)...
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