Terms & Conditions of Boarding

1.1 "Cat(s)" means the feline(s) boarded under your booking.

1.2 "Booking" means the stay dates and services confirmed by ABC in writing (including by email or message).

1.3 These Terms apply to all Cats boarded at ABC and supersede any prior discussions, unless ABC agrees otherwise in writing.

2.1 Booking confirmation. All stays must be booked in advance. A Booking is only confirmed once ABC has checked availability and issued written confirmation.

2.2 No deposit. ABC does not require a deposit. However, ABC may refuse future bookings from Clients who cancel without the required notice or who repeatedly change bookings at short notice.

2.3 Fees are charged per day per pen, including the day of arrival and departure. Unless otherwise agreed in writing, current prices (April 2026 to 30 June 2027) are: £17 (1 cat), £21 (2 cats), £25 (3 cats) and £27 (4 cats) per pen-day. The interconnected two-pen suites are £60 per day. Where you specifically request one of our family pens for a booking of one or two cats, a supplement of £4 per day applies; bookings of three or four cats are placed in a family pen as standard, with no supplement. A Christmas surcharge of £5 per cat per day applies from 21 December to 4 January. Pen moves agreed in advance as a condition of booking carry a £15 per-move cleaning and administration charge; a move ABC makes for its own operational reasons is never charged. Medication administration, where required, is charged at £2 per cat per day, or £4 per cat per day where the medication is given by inhaler or injection. All booked days, including arrival and departure days, are chargeable. Minimum stay is 3 days off-peak, 4 days from 1 June to 30 September, and 5 days over Christmas (21 December to 4 January), counting the arrival and departure days.

2.4 Payment. Full payment (including any extras such as Christmas surcharge, medication, or pick-up/drop-off fees) is due in cash on collection. Where an account remains unpaid, ABC may retain any belongings left with the Cat until the account is settled, and may recover the outstanding amount as a debt. ABC will not withhold the Cat itself.

2.5 Late payment interest. ABC may charge interest on late payments at 4% per annum above the Bank of England base rate, accruing daily.

2.6 Cancellation and changes. Notice must be given in writing. More than 14 days before arrival: no charge. 14 days or fewer but more than 7 days: 50% of the boarding fee. 7 days or fewer, or non-arrival: 100% of the boarding fee (including arrival and departure days). Early returns, late arrivals or a reduced stay do not entitle you to a refund; the originally booked days remain chargeable.

2.7 Administration fee for changes. Date changes made more than 14 days before arrival may incur an administration fee of £5 per change.

2.8 Pre-arrival form and emergency contact. Before the stay ABC will send you a link to its online pre-arrival form. Please complete it before you arrive: it records each Cat's feeding, medication and habits, your emergency contact, and a photograph of the vaccination record, so that the team caring for your Cat has everything to hand. You must provide an emergency contact who is contactable during the stay and authorised to make decisions (including veterinary decisions) if you cannot be reached. If neither can be reached, ABC may act in the Cat's best interests.

2.9 Non-collection. If a Cat is not collected within 14 days of the agreed collection date and ABC has been unable to reach you or your emergency contact despite reasonable attempts, ABC will give you written notice of its intention to rehome the Cat, following the notice and sale procedure in the Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977. ABC will continue to care for the Cat until then, and may recover reasonable boarding and veterinary costs as a debt. We will always act in your Cat's welfare and will never abandon or destroy a healthy animal.

3.1 Secure carriers. Cats must arrive and depart in secure cat carriers. ABC may refuse admission if safe transport is not provided.

3.2 Times. Drop-off is between 1pm and 4pm and collection between 10am and 12 noon, by appointment, seven days a week. This lets us settle new guests in the afternoon and clean between guests in the morning. We aim to be flexible about times where we can, but at the busiest times we sometimes cannot be. Arrivals and collections outside these hours are by prior arrangement only and may incur additional charges. Late collection may be charged as an additional day (or part-day) at ABC's discretion.

3.3 Pick-up and drop-off service. ABC offers a transport service charged at £15 each way for addresses within 20 miles of the cattery, and at £0.85 per mile each way beyond that, calculated from ABC's address to the pick-up/drop-off location. Transport is at the Client's risk.

4.1 Standard diet included. The boarding fee includes adult cats fed on IAMS or Harringtons dry food and Harringtons wet food, and kittens on Scrumbles dry food and HiLife wet food (or nutritionally similar alternatives). Alternative brands are available too. Fresh water is available at all times.

4.2 Owner-supplied food and prescription diets. You may supply your own food, including prescription diets. Any prescription or specialist diet must be supplied by you, clearly labelled, and in sufficient quantity for the stay.

4.3 Feeding instructions. ABC will try to follow your Cat's normal feeding routine. You must disclose any dietary requirements, allergies or sensitivities at booking.

5.1 Vaccinations. Our licence requires every Cat to be currently vaccinated against feline infectious enteritis and cat flu. A booster must have been given at least 14 days before arrival; where a Cat is starting or restarting its course, the second injection of the course must have been given at least 4 weeks before arrival. For boarding purposes cat flu cover is counted as lasting 12 months from the last injection whatever the product used; enteritis cover is counted as lasting 3 years after a Nobivac Tricat Trio or Purevax booster and 12 months for other products. The vaccination record (card, vet's printout or a clear photograph of it) must be shown on arrival; ABC photographs it into the Cat's record and the card goes home with you. ABC may refuse admission if vaccinations are not up to date, and does not accept homeopathic nosodes or blood-test titre letters in place of vaccination. Feline leukaemia vaccination is recommended but not required.

5.2 Flea and worm treatment. Cats must be up to date with flea and worm treatments. If an infestation is discovered, ABC may treat the Cat(s) and charge you for the cost of treatment and any necessary additional cleaning: £50 for flea treatment (reflecting deep cleaning of neighbouring pens) and £10 for worming.

5.3 Neutering and suitability. Unneutered male cats over six months will not be accepted. ABC may refuse any Cat that is pregnant, nursing, aggressive, excessively stressed, or otherwise unsuitable for communal boarding. Cats that turn out to be unneutered and spray during their stay will be charged £50 for deep cleaning the pen after departure.

5.4 Disclosure of health/behaviour. You must disclose at booking any health conditions, ongoing treatments, history of contagious illness, or behavioural issues. ABC may refuse to board Cats with contagious illness or undisclosed material issues.

5.5 Medication and ongoing needs. Diabetic, elderly and frail cats are welcome, as are cats with an ongoing illness provided the condition is not contagious. ABC administers the medication your vet has prescribed exactly as the dispensing label directs: tablets, liquids, drops, inhalers and subcutaneous injections, including insulin. ABC does not decide or vary doses, does not give intramuscular or intravenous injections, and does not undertake other clinical procedures. Medicines must be provided in their original veterinary packaging, clearly labelled with the Cat's name and dose, in sufficient quantity for the stay. For a Cat on insulin you must provide your vet's written instruction on what to do if the Cat does not eat before a dose is due; where no instruction is given, ABC will withhold that dose and contact your vet (or, if your vet cannot be reached, its own vet) before giving it. You authorise ABC to contact your vet to check a dose or instruction. Every dose given is recorded on the Cat's daily care record, which is available to you on request. Please tell us about every medication at booking and on the pre-arrival form. ABC may decline a Cat whose needs it cannot safely meet, and will say so before the stay.

5.6 Veterinary treatment and consent. If a Cat becomes ill or injured, ABC will make reasonable efforts to contact you and/or your emergency contact. You authorise ABC to seek veterinary attention if ABC considers it necessary. All veterinary fees, medications and transport costs are payable by you.

5.7 Behaviour during stay. If Cats sharing a pen fight or are incompatible, ABC may separate them and charge for the additional pen. ABC may refuse admission to (or require early collection of) aggressive or disruptive Cats. Aggressive or abusive behaviour by Clients towards staff will not be tolerated.

5.8 Veterinary fee cover. A condition of boarding is that your Cat is in good health on arrival. ABC holds business insurance that may contribute towards veterinary fees for an injury or illness first arising during the stay, currently up to £1,500 with the first £250 payable by you, subject in every case to the insurer's terms, limits and exclusions. It does not cover any pre-existing, recurring or ongoing illness, injury or condition (including any condition for which the Cat is receiving medication), any condition you did not disclose (for example dental disease), or any condition shown to have existed before boarding. Veterinary fees are your responsibility unless and to the extent that ABC's insurer meets a claim; the excess and any costs above the sum the insurer pays are payable by you. Details of the cover in force are available on request.

6.1 Sharing. Only Cats from the same household may share a pen.

6.2 Bedding, toys and belongings. ABC supplies all bedding, litter, food equipment, scratching posts and basic toys. You may bring bedding/toys, but all personal items are left at your risk. ABC is not liable for loss or damage to personal items. Any item left unclaimed for one month after the stay may be disposed of by ABC.

8.1 Standard of care. ABC will take reasonable care of your Cat throughout the stay. ABC is responsible for illness, injury, death or loss caused by its negligence or its breach of these Terms, and not otherwise. Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits any liability that cannot be excluded or limited by law.

8.2 Insurance. You are strongly advised to maintain your own pet insurance.

8.3 Force majeure. ABC is not liable for failure or delay caused by events beyond its reasonable control (including fire, extreme weather, power outage, or public health emergencies).

8.4 Limitation of liability. Except for liability that cannot be limited by law and liability for the death of or injury to a Cat caused by ABC's negligence, ABC's liability under or in connection with a Booking is limited to the total boarding fee for that Booking or, where ABC's insurer meets a claim, the sum paid by the insurer, whichever is greater. ABC is not liable for indirect or consequential loss.

9.1 Data protection. ABC processes personal data for booking administration, care of the Cat(s), and emergency purposes, and keeps it in its booking and care system. Booking confirmations and reminders are sent from bookings@appleblossomcattery.com. Our licence requires us to keep evidence of each Cat's vaccination for 24 months, so the photograph of the vaccination record is kept for that period. Other data is retained for as long as necessary to meet legal and operational requirements. You may ask us at any time what we hold about you, and to correct or erase it where the law allows. See our Privacy Notice.

9.2 Photographs. ABC may take photographs of Cats for social media or promotional purposes. If you do not want your Cat(s) photographed, you must notify ABC at check-in or at booking.