Elite Cattery Archway Road, North London Review

Overall Rating

Location.

Unclean.

I would not recommend Elite Cattery to anybody who cares about their cats.

When I picked my cats up from Elite Cattery, they had an overpowering smell of urine. On further investigation I noticed that it was all over their fur (even their heads). When I telephoned to ask why this had happened, the proprietor made many excuses.

The same evening I noticed that they were sneezing. The next few days my cats got progressively worse. They were sneezing constantly, and could not breathe through their noses.

I telephoned Elite Cattery again, concerned about their illness. I was told that there had been sneezing in the cattery, and that there was a notice in reception.
I told her that I had not seen the notice, and if I was told of the illness I certainly would not have let them stay.

She then proceeded to make further excuses, by telling me that my cats had been kept separate to any of the cats that were sneezing. She then told me that they must have picked it up at home - which I told her was unlikely, as they are house cats and do not go outside. She then contradicted herself by saying that they could have caught it through an open window as the illness is airborne (which of course would mean that they could have caught it at the cattery, even if they were kept separate)

No apology whatsoever was given about the state of my cats, or any responsibility taken.

Members' Comments onponker's Review

• donnalewis on 11th Mar 2006

  As the manageress of Elite Cattery i feel it is my duty to reply to the above review and to alert the readers to some 'missing' information. I handled the owners cats on a daily basis (we let the cats out of their accomodation to run around and have to pick them up to put them back in) and i did not notice any smell of urine on them. I did not make 'many' excuses -- I didn't have any! I told the owner that I didn't think that they smelled at all. She then told me that I didn't notice because 'all catteries probably smell of urine and i was just used to it'. As any cattery owner will tell you, this is NOT the case, in fact just the opposite! We have the most finely attuned noses in the business! When the owner made her initial phone booking we had no cats sneezing in the cattery, however between then and the day her cats arrived we had 2 cats sneezing (they were immediately given antibiotics by our vet) hence the sign. She states in her review that she didn't see the notice, that's because she didn't bring the cats in herself, her partner did. I asked him to read the notice, which he did -- she informed me later that he was dyslexic and couldn't read the sign. I can understand that he might have felt uncomfortable asking me for help with reading it (my husband is also dyslexic) however I don't think that I should be held responsible for that. The 2 sneezers were kept in our isolation area away from all the other cats, hers included. I did say that the virus is airbourne but did not mention anything about an open window. What i did tell her was that its quite possible that as her cats have never been in contact with any other cats before their immune system is not as hardy as regular boarders, thus making them more susceptible to minor illness. We do have sneezing in the cattery from time to time and have consulted vets on this matter only to be told that our regime is good and ventilation more than adequate. We normally find if we have a case or two in the cattery it is outside in the area also (hence our strict inoculation certificate policy). The review upset me as she states that no apology was given which is untrue and no responsibility taken yet we sent her a cheque (which she did recieve) to cover her vet costs. This review was only bought to my attention by a new customer who after reading it still decided to view the cattery (something we actively encourage prior to boarding), she was pleased with everything and has booked her cats for a holiday in July. We all love our jobs here and do take it personally if an owner-or more importantly a cat! is not happy, Luckily most of our 'fur persons' and their parents are very happy with us here. While I do agree with anyones right to complain, I feel that this review is unfair as the reviewer has omitted certain facts, which should have been included to help the reader reach their own conclusion. Donna Lewis-Wood