Cat boarding licence

If you provide cat boarding for other people's cats as part or all of your business, you will need a cat boarding licence.

This applies to overnight housing and home boarding for cats in purpose-built cattery units.

The cost of a licence is £324. We will only ask you to pay the fee once we are satisfied we have all the required documentation.

Cat boarding rules

• Cat owners must give written consent for cats from the same household to share a unit.
• If cats are from the same household, the owner must give consent to separate animals if there is a problem.
• When cats are boarding, the licence holder must get consent from the cat owner to state which vet will be used.
• Consent is also needed for what toys are used or interaction preferences.
• Licence holders must keep a record of any items left at the cattery by owners.
• Vaccinations required for cat staying include Feline Panleukopenia, Feline Parvovirus, also known as feline infectious enteritis, and Feline respiratory viruses (feline herpesvirus and feline calicivirus).
• Appropriate isolation in self-contained facilities must be available for the care of sick, injured or potentially infectious animals. If the isolation facility is at another location, such as a local veterinary practice, you must provide evidence that this is ready to use (for example, a letter from the practice).
• If the cat is in the isolation facility for more than 12 hours, the facility must follow the same size and facility requirements as a normal cattery unit.

Minimum sizes for units and runs

The tables below show the minimum size for units and runs. 

Licence conditions

When you apply you will be prompted to upload your procedures or provide information to prove that you can meet the licence conditions. This includes:

• Ofqual level 2 higher, or clear evidence of knowledge and experience
• Written training policy for all staff
• Enrichment plan
• Cleaning procedures
• Feeding regimes procedure
• Transportation procedure (if applicable)
• Monitoring and ensuring the health and welfare of all the animal’s procedure
• The death or escape of an animal procedure
• Emergency procedures including but not limited to fire and extreme weather
• Veterinarian details
• Preventative healthcare plan agreed with appointed veterinarian
• Cat register of all cats and must include dates of arrival and departure, name, age, sex, neuter status, breed, microchip number, number of cats from same household (if any), medical history and current medicine, restrictions on exercise, most recent vaccinations and parasite treatments, contact details of owner and an emergency contact.

This list is not exhaustive and extra documents may be required - read the government’s cat boarding conditions in full for details of all documented procedures.

How to apply

Apply online

Read our privacy notice which tells you how we use your data.

What happens next?

We will review your application within 21 days. If you have not provided your procedures or proof that you can meet the licence conditions with your online application, we will ask you to send these to us.

When we are satisfied we have all the required information we will contact you to pay the licence fee in full.

Once you have paid, we will arrange for an inspector to visit your premises to check that you meet the conditions of the licence.

Following this inspection and if all the minimum standards are met, we will issue your licence. This will tell you how long your licence will last and what your star rating is, based on the government criteria. We aim to issue the licence within 10 weeks of receiving the application.

Appeals

If we have made a decision to refuse, vary, suspend or revoke a licence, you can appeal to the General Regulatory Chamber of the First Tier Tribunal.

Star ratings

After inspection, each premise will receive a star rating between 1 and 5, with 5 being the highest rating. To achieve the best possible rating, you will need to have covered all the standard conditions, including all required consents, policies and procedures.

To meet the highest rating, certain higher standards must be met.

Higher standards (required)

• There must be at least one full time member of staff for every 20 cats, or a higher number of qualified staff.
• The design and layout of the facility must give the cats a choice of areas.
• Temperature in the sleeping area must be between 18°C and 26°C.
• All cats must be checked at least once at an appropriate interval out of hours (between 6pm and 8am) by a person or CCTV.
• If more than one cat shares a unit, daily behavioural observations must be recorded and acted upon. These should especially focus on any signs of stress or aggression.
• Cat units must be 1.5 times the minimum area sizes in this guide. The calculation of the total area can include raised areas.
• Each cat must have access to at least two raised areas, one of which must be in the sleeping area and one must be in the exercise area.
• Sneeze barriers must be completely opaque rather than translucent. They should be up to 600mm and behind any shelves and 300 mm above and to the side of any shelves.

Higher standards (optional) 50% required

• There must be at least one member of staff with an Ofqual regulated level 3 qualification.
• A competent person must be on site at all times.
• Ventilation must be a managed, fixed or portable air system to maintain temperatures in all weathers. This can be an air conditioning unit or removable fans installed safely away from the cats.
• Behavioural observations must be recorded daily.
• Designated on site isolation facilities must be available. They must be the same size and have the same facilities as a normal cattery unit.

Licence variation

To vary your licence please email Environmental.Health@liverpool.gov.uk with your proposals. We will then contact you to pay the licence variation fee. 

On receipt of payment, we will review your proposals and arrange a site visit if this is required, depending on the variation.

If you need further information, please contact us.