You do the hard part every day.
You keep the cattery clean. You follow welfare procedures. You check vaccination records. You feed cats properly, give medication when agreed, send updates and answer worried owners’ questions.
But a good cattery can still be hard to find online.
When someone searches for “cattery near me”, “cat boarding in [town]” or “licensed cat boarding for Christmas”, Google has to decide which businesses to show first. If your profile is incomplete, your services are vague or your website makes booking difficult, the customer may choose another facility before they ever see the care you provide.
That is the problem SEO for catteries needs to solve.
Not generic pet marketing. Not a long report full of technical terms.
You need to be visible for local, trust-led searches and give cat owners a straightforward route to check availability and enquire.
Start with the searches cat owners actually make
A cattery is not the same as a kennel, pet sitter or pet groomer.
Your customers are usually planning around a holiday, house move, hospital stay, work trip or recurring annual break. They want to know:
- Is the cattery near me?
- Is it licensed?
- Are the accommodation and welfare standards suitable?
- Can you board more than one cat from the same household?
- What vaccinations are required?
- Can you give medication?
- How much does it cost?
- Are there spaces for my dates?
- Will I receive updates while I am away?
Your website should answer these questions clearly.
Create a main cat boarding page, then add useful supporting pages for the services people may search for:
- Cattery boarding
- Kitten boarding
- Long-stay cat boarding
- Boarding for older cats
- Medication support
- Cat boarding during holidays
- Collection and drop-off, if offered
- Cat boarding prices and requirements
- Your local town, village or county
Do not create thin pages by changing the town name and repeating the same paragraph. Explain what is genuinely available, who it suits and how the booking process works.
If you also provide dog boarding, keep the services separate. A page about both kennels and catteries can be useful as a general overview, but cat owners should not have to search through dog-focused content to find the information they need. See the related kennels and catteries trade page.
Make your Google Business Profile do more work
Your Google Business Profile is often the first thing a cat owner sees.
It can appear before your website, especially for searches such as “cat boarding near me” or “cattery in [town]”. A half-completed profile makes your business look less established than it is.
Check these details:
- Use the most accurate primary category available for your business.
- Add your full address, phone number and website.
- Keep opening hours and holiday hours current.
- List cat boarding, kitten boarding, long stays and medication support as services where appropriate.
- Add recent photos of the units, sleeping areas, entrances, outdoor spaces and shared facilities.
- Explain your local service area in plain English.
- Include clear information about booking enquiries and availability.
- Check that your business name, address and phone number match your website.
Use photos that help owners make a decision. A picture of a clean, secure unit is more useful than a generic cat photograph. Show the details that reduce uncertainty: sleeping spaces, ventilation, feeding areas, enrichment, security and how cats are kept separate.
Post updates when you have something useful to say. You might mention Christmas availability, school holiday demand, vaccination reminders or a change to collection times.
Do not claim spaces are available if they are not. Keep the profile accurate. Trust matters more than forcing a click.
Turn licensing and welfare into visible trust
A cat owner is not just buying a room.
They are leaving an animal in your care. Your licence, welfare procedures and veterinary arrangements should be easy to find.
In England, commercial boarding for cats requires an animal activities licence from the local council. The council inspects the premises and applies conditions covering accommodation, staffing, records, disease control and animal welfare. Read the official cat boarding licensing guidance and the government guidance on a boarding for cats or dogs licence.
Rules and licensing arrangements vary across the UK, so check with your own local authority.
On your website, explain:
- Which authority licences or regulates your facility.
- Your licence status and any details that must legally appear in advertising.
- How you keep cats separated safely.
- How often accommodation is cleaned and checked.
- How feeding instructions are recorded.
- How medication is stored, administered and logged.
- What happens if a cat becomes unwell.
- Which vaccinations are required before arrival.
- Whether vaccination records must be provided.
- How you work with your veterinary practice.
- How owners receive updates during a stay.
Keep the wording accurate. Do not use “council approved” or similar claims unless they reflect your actual status.
A clear welfare page can also reduce repetitive phone calls. It helps the right customers decide before they enquire.
Answer the practical booking questions
A customer who cannot understand your terms may leave, even if they like your facility.
Put the important details near the booking route:
- Price per night or per stay
- Extra charges for medication, collection or special arrangements
- Minimum stay rules
- Deposit and cancellation terms
- Check-in and collection times
- What food or belongings owners should bring
- Vaccination requirements
- Flea and worming expectations, if applicable
- Availability during summer, Christmas and bank holidays
- Whether you accept long stays
- How you handle multiple cats from one household
Avoid hiding prices behind a vague “contact us” button if you can provide starting prices or a clear pricing guide.
You do not need to promise a final price before reviewing the details. You do need to give owners enough information to understand whether your cattery may be suitable.
Use reviews to show the care you provide
Reviews are especially important for cat boarding because the purchase involves trust.
A five-star rating helps, but the detail in the review often does more work. Owners want to read about clean accommodation, calm handling, updates, medication, feeding instructions and easy collection.
Ask customers for an honest review after they collect their cat. Do not tell them what rating to leave. You can remind them to mention the parts of the service they found useful. If you want to show proof on your own site, link to relevant case studies where you talk about results and customer outcomes.
Reply to reviews regularly. Thank the customer, refer to the specific experience and keep private information private.
For example, a useful response might acknowledge that an owner appreciated medication records or daily updates. Do not disclose medical details that the customer has not shared publicly.
Show selected reviews on your website, but make sure they are genuine and clearly attributed. Keep your Google profile active too. A review feed that has not changed for years can make the site look neglected.
Build pages around seasonal and repeat demand
Catteries often face sharp changes in demand.
Summer holidays, Christmas, Easter and school breaks can fill quickly. At other times, demand may come from recurring business travellers, regular holidaymakers, house moves or longer-term arrangements.
Create useful seasonal content before people need it:
- Christmas cat boarding in [town]
- Summer holiday cattery availability
- Cat boarding for long stays
- What to prepare before your cat’s stay
- Vaccinations needed for cat boarding
- How medication support works
- Returning customers and repeat bookings
Keep these pages current. Remove old availability messages when dates pass. Add the next relevant booking period instead.
Make repeat stays easy. If customers return every year, your website should let them find the same booking information quickly. Save their details securely in your own systems, but do not ask for information you do not need at the first enquiry stage.
Give visitors a quicker way to ask for a price
A contact form that asks for a long message creates work for both sides.
Cat owners usually need to share a few basic details first:
- Cat type or number of cats
- Check-in date
- Collection date
- Approximate stay length
- Medication or special care needs
- Contact details
VU1’s instant quote widget is built for this type of first enquiry. Visitors can choose their cat type, select the stay length and dates, see a starting estimate and leave their contact details before they disappear to compare another cattery.
It does not replace your final booking decision. You still check availability, vaccination records, welfare requirements and any special care before confirming the stay.
It simply gives the visitor a clearer first step.
Find the gaps in under 15 seconds
You may already have a website that looks professional but still misses important local search signals.
VU1’s free audit checks 15 local, on-page and technical signals, including:
- Google Business Profile completeness
- Consistent name, address and phone details
- Local directory listings
- Page titles and headings
- Service content
- Internal links
- Mobile usability
- Page speed
- Structured data
- Sitemap and security basics
Enter your website and the town or service area you want to target. You receive the findings in plain English, usually in under 15 seconds, with practical fixes rather than a confusing report.
Run your free 15-signal audit.
If you want the audit, weekly re-audits, change tracking, hosting and the instant quote widget together, VU1 membership is £99 per month. It is month to month, with no long-term contract.
See what the £99/month membership includes.
Make your cattery easier to find and easier to book
Good care is the foundation.
SEO helps more local cat owners find that care when they are ready to make arrangements. Start with your Google Business Profile. Build pages that answer real boarding questions. Show your licence and welfare standards clearly. Explain pricing, availability and vaccination requirements. Then give visitors a short route to request a quote.
Enter your website and town into the free VU1 audit now. Get your 15-signal report in under 15 seconds, fix the most useful gaps and add a clearer booking route with the instant quote widget.