How we check

Who we list

We list kennels and catteries with an address in each town we cover, and check each one for a council commercial boarding licence under the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018. Most come straight from councils' public registers of animal licences.

We don't list dog breeders, pet shops or home boarders. Home boarding and day care may be added later as separate listings.

Licence details and star ratings

The licence number, licence holder, star rating, issue date and expiry date come directly from the council register. We record which register file we used and the date we checked it, and show that date on every listing.

• If a council doesn't publish star ratings, we show “Rating not published”. We never guess or imply a low rating.
• Where a business's own website states a different star rating, we always show the council's rating.
• We match businesses to their websites by licence number where the website shows it, and by name and address otherwise.

Licence status

Licensed

The business is on its council's register with a current licence.

Licence expired

The register shows the licence has expired. The business may have renewed since the register was published, so check with the business or council.

Not on register

We couldn't find the business on its council's register, so its rating is unconfirmed. It may be licensed under a different name. Ask for its licence number before you book.

Prices

Prices come from three places. We record the source and date of every price, and show the date on each listing:

• The business: prices a business publishes itself.
• Phone calls: prices we're quoted when we call a business.
• Owners: prices people share with us, checked before they're included in town ranges.

Town price ranges use each business's lowest published price for one pet, per day, so businesses are compared like for like. Shared rooms and larger rooms are shown on each listing but not used in the range. Where a published price list announces a later increase, we apply it and say so.

Facilities and opening times

Facilities, requirements and opening times are as described on each business's website. We don't inspect premises ourselves. Visit before you book.

Order of listings

Listings are sorted by council star rating, then alphabetically. Star ratings come from the council, and nobody can pay to change them. Any paid or featured placement will always be clearly labelled.

Council registers we use

A town page can include businesses licensed by a neighbouring council when they have an address in that town. Each listing shows which council issued its licence.

Official sources

• The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018, legislation.gov.uk
• Animal activity licensing process: statutory guidance for local authorities, Defra (star ratings and licence lengths)
• Dog kennel boarding licensing: statutory guidance, Defra
• Cat boarding licensing: statutory guidance, Defra
• Council public registers of animal licences, listed above

Corrections

Spotted something wrong? Tell us. If you run a kennel or cattery, use the business form.