A green and ethical cattery: reducing our carbon use, adapting to climate change
From our inception in 1991 our cattery was designed to be green and ethical, or eco-friendly or lower carbon depending on fashion speak of the time. The units are FSC EU timber which though it needs maintenance is easier to replace parts of and reuse for fires if we want.
The largest carbon and energy use cost is from heating so much attention was paid to this. We use dull infra red and panel Infra red heaters, some of which were made for us (pic). Losing heat unnecessarily is not good so insulation went in from the start, being upgraded over the years.
All materials have embodied carbon costs some more damaging to the planet than others. Our first insulation was of recovered fibreglass rolls discarded on a roadside. Not nice stuff to use and not water repellant. Sitting with the cats I realised the floor felt cold and I was losing heat so I added an internal layer of sheep’s wool under a layer of attic flooring boards to raise the floor. Wool is low carbon as its a natural waste product of the sheep and can be composted later which retains carbon in soils. We now get delivery of frozen pet foods wrapped in sheep’s wool which is then used for hanging baskets liners or as compost toppers.
An electricity use audit led me to insulate the cat flap openings with bubble plastic (waste from packaging) heat-sealed at its edges from gathering dirt in pockets and easily replaced if damaged by claws. This is stapled on in October at first frost and comes off before Easter. Cats are used to navigating curtains at home so few have problems with it and draughts are cut down.
Hot water is by a tap heater not boiler: heat only what you need and we no longer have burst units in winter after frosts and ice.
We’ve been buying green electricity for more than 15 years: ours is from Good Energy as its mostly from wind and solar 100% renewables—there are plans for home solar if we can get the house roof stable enough to take it. No oil, no gas, no coal, the goal’s nearly achieved. Next is having a car charging station and electric car. I’ve a bus pass but its not great for cat collections.We really wanted a compressed air car but TESLA is sitting on the technology as they bought out the patents. Every storyteller needs to drive along on hot air!
The house was a recycling of old buildings too, luckily it came with an acre of land. We were able to prove demolition was not necessary, were the only ones prepared to live in this ‘wonky’ unmodernised house though we brought a caravan in case we could not. We’ve a reused mobile home here for casual staff and as storage space on site which has stood us in good stead for 25 years.
Lights are now LED low energy with light sensitive switches to be efficient with electric. Heaters were all on thermostatic control from the start.
Cattery windows all have double glazed glass or were upgraded to this.
When we upgraded the wooden units after 16 years we added more DG windows at a low level for elderly cats and put reflective bubble wrap foils under the roof, extra thick house roof insulation spun from recycled bottles in the walls. Walls were painted with natural paints (Auro and Osmo) from the Green Shop Bisley as it is not petrochemically based and has no adverse reaction on my bees. Likewise the asphalt roof was replaced with natural rubber over fibreboard (from waste wood) which has a longer lifespan (30 years rather than 5) and low toxicity. Ideally we would have used cedar boards for longevity but they were hard to source so we used FSC pine timbers instead which had less far to travel (travel miles costs carbon). We used as little plastic as possible due to its petroleum origin, off-gassing and poor recycling available. We got off cuts from a conservatory company for screens and draught blockers thus re-using waste.
Corridors have long-life polycarbonate sheets to reduce infection spread, keep heat in in winter; airflow was designed in for hygiene in warmer seasons, this is largely covered in Winter, we take sheets off in Summer and add reflective mesh sheets instead
The cat litter we choose is chiefly straw pellets sold as horse bedding as it breaks down quickly when we compost on-site. Mineral litter causes damage to the land and uses lots of energy to extract so is minimised. We keep 3 bays made of reused pallets for a years use and 3 for resting for a further year while rotting down. We have had no objections from the LO as Toxoplasma is not infectious after long compost and all cats are wormed so Toxascariasis is eliminated. We get a high compost temperature so Salmonella, Giardia and E coli are at low risk. Faeces from cats on drugs can still be disposed of separately by council process.
We did try making bricks for wood burning stoves with compressed used litter and newspaper but storing them dry is difficult in our damp area and it takes a relatively high addition of wheat flour to stick it together which felt wasteful of food. Better to harvest hazel, willow and ash logs on site which grow quickly or must be removed due to die-back.
In autumn we dig the fine tilth compost out to winter it and add to raised beds or scatter round our fruit trees along with mineral rock powder.
Drinking water for the cats is pre-filtered of toxic chemicals for better cat uptake and their health. We have an in-house Pozzani carbon filter which has cartridges which are changed 6 monthly. When we were changed from chlorination to Chloramination by the water company the guidance was meagre and last minute so a local action group was set up to examine the repercussions. Lets just say we use rainwater more now.
Foods are chosen for best quality, high protein, non-animal testing and recyclability of packaging. So we choose tinned over sachets. We found continental brands have better cat uptake than UK/US brands- our own cats enjoy being guinea pigs to inform us. Our Madame likes Catz, Carny and Feringa with Cosmo as a fishy treat. We had a 21 year old here the last 2 years and she ate our meats where she was giving up on what her Mum bought. The 95% meat content probably helped!
Rainwater is collected for irrigation of plants. I did try a water pump for hosing but that was not the easiest thing to use and in summer when we are busiest the rainfall is least. I reserve this for the polytunnel pond to care for our frogs, toads and newts for whom our tap water is now toxic.(pic)
You’ve probably worked out counting the carbon is not my forte, I’m dyscalculic. Instead of sitting nursing charts I prefer to act and source better products. The proof it’s worthwhile is seeing the wildlife expand on-site- birds species went from a dozen to nearly 60 species, deer pass through, badger call, amphibians and orchids which are chemically sensitive prosper and the 30 or so fruit trees feed us all. That feels a much healthier world to live in where we see butterflies dance all summer and bees throng home, hive and clay banks. We feed the local birds throughout the year, leave ivy on the house and trees for nesting and give them groomed out cat hair to recycle for their nest building. Make it the world you want to experience and watch your clients emulate in glee when they see this is possible and desirable.
Insect control /flea cleansing is made by use of ultra violet light and ozone via a Uviliser machine: less toxic chemicals for us to be in contact with. We ask what products customers use and when so we can avoid touching recently applied pesticides. Yes we are sensitive and thus aware.
When I set up I bought second hand steel units for storage as they are long lasting and recyclable. By buying better quality you replace less often so consume less carbon. Our newer ones are of recyclable plastic though as they pressure washed easier, the steel ones were passed on. The new cat kitchen is stainless steel to please the LO.
Disinfectant is used as and when/where needed for cat’s protection, otherwise for cleaning we use a coconut oil based detergent which is biodegradable, more natural and effective, kind to hands and wildlife if it runs off and follow it up when dry with a spray layer of animal approved disinfectant. During the various pandemics I was concerned by the effects on mycorrhiza of foot baths and run-off so by reading round found that citric acid was often acceptable and effective instead e.g. against foot and mouth and it breaks down to common salt which we knew the soils could cope with an amount of as it does each winter when we spread salt against icing, though it can damage concrete surfaces.
pic of orchid
Our forest garden surround maximises wildlife and food crops on site. Customers ooh and ahh at the apple archway and our 200 year old mother tree. This cuts food miles (less energy used) and enables local barter or preservation of gluts. It absorbs lots of carbon too via mulch from wood fire ash and composts
Beehives behind cattery give cats amusement to watch and they pollinate the fruit garden. We provide varying substrates giving homes to many kind of bees: piles of hollow stems, clay for mining bees, leaf litter or grass piles for bumble bees, many mason bees nest under the house roof slates and bumblebees borrow bird boxes in eaves. Wasps we tolerate as long as the nest is away from entrances and customers- cedar essential oil is used to deter those who try to use the cattery as their home.
pic
Other reuse of wood to slow carbon release is encouraged by building ‘hugel-beds’ which I use to grow kale, blueberries, salads etc on. The wood slowly breaks down releasing nutrients to the beds which slowly evolve (see Sepp Holzer on YouTube)
We re-use old parts of upgraded cattery units as plant edging or to make compost bays. We have a wood-burning stove too which utilises waste wood rather than primary coal carbon stores (at present an old shed roof). The house stove was upgraded to a second hand electric Aga made from a converted oil one. Aga engineer Ben took out the old one (second-hand, did 30 faithful years) to be recycled and did the refit in a day. It cost a great deal less than a new Aga and heats a large room/draped cats/ dehydrates fruit/slow cooks/dries washing/does ironing/rises bread dough from local grains and generally improves well-being. Being electric it can be switched on and off easily so we don’t consume unnecessary fuel in spring/summer, it taking 5 hours to get back to its cooking temp again (enough time to rise some dough). I did consider a wood pellet cooker so I could use the cat litter and briefly toyed with making bricks from it (see above).
In the Permaculture way we have looked at all flows on-site: sunshine, water, wind, drainage, wildlife and tried to maximise output while minimising input. For instance we allowed the surrounding hedge to become a windbreak from our prevailing westerly gales thus raising the air temperature in the garden
Its put us in a good place while the climate changes as we now have water sumps on site to store rain and avoid floods and local roads are served by a salt depot nearby if it freezes. We have several roads to us so access is maintained in high winds/if trees fall. As we are on a hospital bus route the council prioritises us. We reuse and trade items and do local voluntary work to provide social capital.
Social change: We pay all staff Fair Wage pay rates and support neurodiversity and good mental health. We take Work Experience placements periodically and support local Youth Employment initiatives.
An ethos of Be Kind applies here, a steady stream of re-homed pets pass through along with Fostered cats. We support and promote charities doing good for the world and to animal and humankind (ADI, Naturewatch, Animal free Research, BUAV and others like our local wildlife rescue ) . We volunteer some of our time to do drone pet rescue, storytelling and pet therapy in care/hospital/schools. As Ghandi said “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” and Mother Theresa added “Love until it hurts” Kennel owners are naturally empathetic, we need to be for our work, we are the unobserved models of this change. Perhaps its time we were seen.
Suppliers:
Wren: https://www.diamondedgeltd.com
Herschel: the ecostore.co.uk
Aluminium IR heaters and mirror heaters: Multiheat & Energy Systems Ltd https://multiheat-energysystems.co.uk/about-us-multiheat-infrared-heaters/about-multiheat
Sterilising/insect control: https://www.uvilizer.com/
Eco paint: https://greenshoppaints.co.uk/
Reused Agas: https://bhagaservices.com/
Amway LOC cleaner-find on Amazon/Ebay or https://www.amway.co.uk
Hugelbeds: https://www.permaculture.co.uk/articles/the-many-benefits-of-hugelkultur/
Pet Fostering Service Scotland www.pfss.org (see Cinnamon Trust in England)
Sepp Holzer on YouTube: see also food forests
Permaculture.co.uk- many teachers and courses available see also Permaculture monthly magazine.