# Websites for kennels & catteries

> Websites for boarding kennels, catteries and dog day care that show owners exactly where their animal will sleep, prove the licence, and take holiday bookings months ahead.

- Source: https://nerdsharks.com/industries/kennels-and-catteries
- Publisher: Nerdsharks (Exeter, Devon, UK)
- Updated: 2026-09-27

There are 24,310 other personal service businesses, a category that includes pet grooming, pet boarding and tattooing across 377 UK local authorities (ONS UK Business Counts, SIC 96090, 2025, OGL v3.0).

## How customers choose

Owners choosing boarding are planning a holiday and feeling guilty about it. They start looking weeks or months ahead, particularly for summer and Christmas, and they want to see the actual accommodation - the size of the kennel or cattery pen, the heating, the outdoor space, where the animal will exercise. They check the local-authority licence and its star rating, which in England is now part of the licensing system and which owners increasingly know to ask about. They want to know about vaccinations required, feeding (can I bring their own food), medication, and whether they can visit before booking. Cat owners are particularly focused on stress: separate pens, no view of other cats, no dogs nearby. Once an owner finds boarding they trust, they return for every holiday and recommend it to friends, so first impressions carry years of bookings.

## What most websites in this trade get wrong

Boarding websites are often old, built once and never updated, with a gallery of three dark photos and a phone number that goes unanswered during feeding and cleaning. Owners ringing in the evening to check summer availability get voicemail and book elsewhere. The site should show availability, or at least peak-date status, and take a booking request with vaccination details up front. It must also show the licence properly - number, issuing council, star rating - because an owner who cannot find it will assume the worst. And it needs honest photography of the actual pens, the exercise areas and the staff, because owners are imagining their pet in that space for a fortnight.

## What the website has to do

- **Booking request for specific dates** - Holiday dates are fixed; the owner wants to secure a place, not start a conversation.
- **Pre-booking visit** - Many owners want to see the premises first, and a visit converts reliably.
- **Day care sign-up** - Regular weekday day care is steady, recurring income beside seasonal boarding.

## Pages

- **Home** - Real accommodation photos, licence and star rating, and booking route.
- **Dog boarding** - Kennel sizes, exercise routine, feeding and medication handling.
- **Cat boarding** - Pen layout, heating, how cats are kept calm and separate.
- **Prices** - Nightly rates, sharing discounts, peak-date surcharges and extras.
- **Booking and requirements** - Vaccinations, flea and worming, what to bring, deposit and cancellation terms.
- **Day care** - Where offered - hours, assessments and how groups are managed.
- **Visit us** - Directions, opening times for drop-off and collection, and viewing appointments.

## Features that matter

- **Licence number, issuing council and star rating displayed** - Boarding is a licensable activity in England and owners check; hiding it costs trust.
- **Booking request with dates, animals and vaccination status** - Captures what you need to confirm a place without a phone call during feeding time.
- **Peak-date availability notice** - Saying summer is nearly full prompts the bookings you want early and saves pointless enquiries.
- **Real photography of pens, runs and exercise areas** - Owners are picturing their animal there; stock images cause suspicion.
- **Drop-off and collection times stated clearly** - Boarding runs on set windows, and owners arriving outside them cause chaos.
- **Separate pages for dogs and cats** - Cat owners fear barking dogs and look for reassurance specific to cats.

Trust signals: Local-authority animal activity licence under the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018; Licence star rating; Insurance; Arrangements with a named local veterinary practice; Real photographs of the accommodation.

Seasonality: School summer holidays, Easter, half-terms and Christmas book out first, often months ahead. January to March is typically quiet for boarding.

## Local authorities with the most

| Local authority | Businesses |
|---|---|
| Westminster | 475 |
| Buckinghamshire | 355 |
| Camden | 315 |
| Birmingham | 280 |
| North Yorkshire | 255 |
| Islington | 250 |
| Cheshire East | 235 |
| Wiltshire | 220 |
| Leeds | 210 |
| West Northamptonshire | 210 |

## The offer

- **Monthly**: £299 upfront, £99/month (the upfront is a setup fee), 12-month minimum term. We build it, host it and look after it - and after 24 monthly payments, it is yours.
- **Own It**: £1,795 upfront, £49/month, no minimum term. Buy the website outright. It is yours to keep, move or cancel.
- **Pro**: £6,950 upfront, £299/month, 12-month minimum term. No limits. For large, multi-site and fast-growing businesses.
- Payment: The setup fee is paid when you book, and it starts the design. Monthly fees are collected by Direct Debit, covered by the Direct Debit Guarantee, from the day your site goes live.
- Guarantee: You see your finished design on your phone and approve it before anything goes live, with two full rounds of changes included. Nothing launches until you are happy with it. The Monthly plan runs for 12 months from launch.
- Bolt-ons: Google Business Profile management £29/month; Local SEO pack £49/month; Business email £5/month. Coming soon, not yet on sale: Missed-call text back, Review booster.
- VAT: We are not VAT registered, so there is no VAT to add to these prices.

## Questions

### Should I show my boarding licence and star rating on my website?

Yes. Boarding cats or dogs for payment is a licensable activity in England, and owners increasingly look for the licence number, the issuing council and the star rating before they book. Showing them prominently builds trust, and your licence conditions may set out what your advertising has to include - check them and we will build to them.

### How do I stop the phone ringing with summer availability questions?

Put a clear availability notice for peak dates on the homepage and take booking requests online. A line saying which weeks are full and which have space answers most calls before they happen, and a request form that captures dates, animals and vaccination status means you can confirm bookings after feeding time rather than during it.

### Should I put my prices on my website?

Almost always yes. Hiding prices loses more enquiries than it protects, because people assume the worst and go to a competitor who publishes theirs. If your pricing genuinely varies, publish a range and explain in one sentence what moves it - that converts far better than "contact us for a quote".