Cat Hotel Offers Free Rooms for Pets of People Concerned About Coronavirus

Hotel Cat has taken a bold move to support cat owners who need hospital treatment for the coronavirus. The luxury cattery is offering help for people who would refuse to accept hospital care because they live alone with their cat. It’s one of the most often worries cited by cat owners- the fear that their cat would suffer because nobody would be there to care for them. With the coronavirus raging across the world, Hotel Cat has offered free board for pets whose owners have become ill because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Hotel Cat is the U.K.’s only purpose built,exclusively for cats hotel. It is based in Hampshire, in the village of Sway. The hotel has eight themed suites designed just for cats. Four of the highlights are suites reminiscent of the most popular places for travel. The Tropical Suite features a panoramic photo of a white-sand beach, turquoise blue water, and a swaying palm tree. The Malibu Suite is newly decorated and features a sandy beach next to the ocean with a while-sailed boat floating on the horizon. The French-style room is a vision of a seaside retreat in France. There is an African Savannah suite which has plush surfaces which are covered with animal-print fabrics.

Each suite has human-sized beds, duvets, furniture, and televisions. The bedrooms have an attached garden room which is designed for kitties with place to play, run, hide, and sleep. With plenty of toys and sun chairs for lounging, kitties who have the chance to stay have more than enough entertainment to keep them busy. It’s the only hotel in the New Forest which is 5-star rated. Hotel Cat’s Facebook account featured a post on March 16 offering to pick up a cat and take care of it for free until its owner is well again. This offer is specifically made to anyone in the hospital due to the coronavirus and or anyone who is simply too ill because of the coronavirus to properly care for their cat.

The hotel is filled with all kinds of things which cats adore. There’s a cat wheel where cats sit and while away their time. There are climbing trees, climbing poles, stairs for running up and down, and lots of chairs for curling up in. Cats have access to cozy cat beds and luxurious comforters. Lap warmers on chairs are almost a given and when truly bored, there are televisions with cat appropriate videos to watch. If none of these suffice, there are feather sticks to chase–and all cat owners know exactly how much fun those are.

Jackie Ferrier, Hotel Cat’s owner, has shared on social media that the free service was offered because so many who live on their own are more than desperate about what will happen to their cat should they fall ill. The hotel is trying to help these desperate owners, who often discover that pet sitters are in short supply due to the COVID-19 virus panic. Though the CDC has been very clear that animals spreading the virus to humans is rare, pet sitters are giving up their occupations in order to remove themselves from perceived risk of infection.

The Ferrier property had a barn which was converted to create Hotel Cat. Each suite can be rented for about $42 USD per day. The largest suite is about 348 square feet. The décor in each is done to the highest hotel standard. Glass doors and double-glazed windows allow guests plenty of things to view. There are no mesh or barred areas. The hotel provides a fine dining menu with a selection of gourmet dining options, fresh mineral water, and china bowls for meals and drinks. Top priority for all guests, according to Ferrier, is that their guests remain safely cared for in an environment which will allow them to feel calmer while away from their owners.

Hotel Cat is in the village of Sway, which is located on the southern edge of the woodland and heathland of the area known as the New Forest. It is accessible by train from London and is near the southern coast of England. It is nearby train service which connects with the ferry to Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight. The village has shops, pubs, restaurants, hotels, a village hall and a church. Sway is a quaint village known for activities such as cycling, walking, festivals and country shows, and food and drink events and sightseeing in the New Forest.

In normal times, Sway and The New Forest is an ideal spot to rest and relax, with Hotel Cat providing opportunity to board kitty without worry. Now, times are uncertain throughout the U.K. and Jackie Ferrier has focused on providing a helpful resource for cat owners who are needing an extra measure of support. Jackie Ferrier has been the owner of Hotel Cat since 2014. Her favorite quote, “Broken pencils are pointless.” is an indication of her sense of humor. Her profile photos on Facebook show a photo of a donkey in the kitchen next to a bemused cat and plenty of other photos with pets. If pictures tell a thousand words, then Ferrier loves animals and has a warm and friendly smile which appears to match a warm and friendly personality.

It’s Ferrier’s offer of a free place for fur babies to come and be cared for that tells much more than any pictures can. The offer has reached the news media quickly. But according to the Daily Mail, Ferrier has the kind of personality to handle just about anything. Her guests are pampered in her “upmarket hotel” as she caters to her feline royalty. She’s had previous experience operating a dog hotel in Devon with her husband Tim. They sold that property and purchased the 20 acres of property which is home to Hotel Cat. They love animals, as indicated by the donkeys, goats, sheep, ponies, and chickens that call the Ferrier property home. Along with their teenage children, James and Lucy, they poured their savings into creating Hotel Cat so that cats would have top notch places for room and board. Ugly experiences with having their own cats in usual catteries prompted them to make a wonderful place for cats to stay for a while. The Ferrier family lives in a home just “a stone’s throw” from Hotel Cat. Ferrier sends emails to cat owners weekly with bulletins to let owners know how their cats are doing. Owners are kept apprised of their cat’s food intake, mood, and health. In good times and now in the worst of times, Ferrier is there to offer Hotel Cat as a place for cat owners to have their beloved kitties be watched over without worry.

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