We moved from Liverpool to Sunderland and had about 3 weeks to wait before our house became ready with nowhere to keep our kittens. Rainton Gate was recommended to us by a family member, so we decided to book them in. The staff were incredibly friendly and helpful from the first phone call and reassured us they would handle everything, all we needed to do was drop the kittens off. Unfortunately, we were unable to view the cattery or visit them due to lockdown, but we were given updates on how the cats were doing via email and phone, and were sent a few photos in which they looked very happy! Rainton Gate were a pleasure to deal with and the cats seemed totally chilled and not stressed at all when we picked them up. Our long-haired cat was also the neatest we'd ever seen her due to the daily grooming they gave to them. It is a relief to know we can rely on booking them here whenever we need to, especially as we're new to the area.

It's now 4 years today 7/8/20 since we lost our beloved big Ragdoll boy River whilst in the care of this cattery,he had been in a week and became severely dehydrated from which he never recovered due to staff not giving enough water to drink .We put 3 big male ragdolls in and noticed that there was only one small water bowlin the pen I mentioned to the young girl that this wasn't enough for my 3 boys but obviously didn't take any notice ,came back from holiday with the tragic news he had died ,still miss him to bits he was only 10 .

I was very impressed with the information on the cattery's website: they are an International Cat Care (ICC) listed cattery; all cats are given daily health checks and grooming; and their pens have a fully private section with heat lamps. Also, their Twitter account @RGLCH is updated regularly with photos of their boarding cats, and all look well looked-after and comfortable. After speaking with the owner over the phone and answering the very thorough range of questions about my cat, I felt comfortable with booking him in for a four night stay in March. It is, admittedly, a bit more expensive than your run-of-the-mill cattery, but when you are as obsessed with your cat as we are you want him to have the best! Also, it is really easy to get to on public transport from Durham - take the 20/20A. When dropping him off I was greeted and asked about his vaccinations, etc. The cattery is to the rear of a house in a long back garden, and very peaceful. His pen was spotlessly clean and he took to it very well. The owner/staff member's cheerful and knowledgeable disposition and the cattery itself leaves you with absolute confidence so you can be relaxed during your holiday. When we picked our cat up he was looking excellent - relaxed and well cared for, and he adjusted easily to being back home after his stay. I will definitely use them again in the future.

Our four pampered cats have holidayed at Rainton gate several times over the last two years.I have no qualms about recommending it to anyone. There is an air of calm contentment among the cats. There is no unpleasant "cat" smell and certainly no cries for attention or of unhappiness from the feline residents.
I can only speak from my experience- I would not leave my cats anywhere that I was uncomfortable about. The owners really do seem to care.

We left our beloved old friend at the cat hotel on our way to as family holiday. That evening we recieved an aggressive phonecall questioning whether we cared for our cat and accusing us of mistreating him. We were most upset as he had entered the Kennels old but happy. He had obviously become stressed and poorly at the kennels and they had no idea how to care for him.

To recieve a phonecall that your family pet is sick is upsetting enough, when you are a distance away, but to be blamed and insulted made the situation even more devastating. Needless to say, Rog was collected the following day!

This experience is still an experience that causes upset. We certainly saw a different side to the cat hotel than a few years ago!!

fantastic accommodation for our pampered cat. very clean. our cat goes to stay on his hols 3 times minimum per year.would highly reccomend and have done.the owners are true animal lovers and try to meet all needs. very professional

Rainton Gate Cattery is highly recommended.
We use this cattery 3/4 times a year and our cat is very very pampered and he doesn't mind going as they are treated very well and the owners try to give them their special requests as much as possible.

We have been taking our cat to Rainton Gate Cattery in Durham approx. 3 to 5 times a year for the last 4 years. Initially the price when we started using it was about £8 a day which seemed reasonable for the excellent care and facilities provided by the previous owner, and often our cat would come home looking better than before she went in! Which was always nice to see.
However, with the change in owners approx. 2 years ago, the standard of care has in our opinion definitely gone down - not in significantly obvious ways but compared to how the previous owner looked after the animals it is noticable. However whilst care and treatment may have declined the prices have shot up! In the space of 4 years the daily rate has risen to now £11, so to go on holiday for one week costs almost £100 to board 1 cat. We do love and care for our pet but this rate is very high when you consider how much (or rather little) cat food costs, which is presumably the only outgoing, other than electricity for heating the shelters and staff costs. We have come to the conclusion that we cannot, on principle, pay such prices now and have found a perfectly suitable alternative which is literally half the price. Indeed every other cattery we called in the tyne and wear area was at least £3 per day less, so for this reason alone we would recommend shopping around first.