Catteries in Norfolk struggling to meet summer holiday demand
Mr Rallison has managed the business, near Norwich, with his wife Claire since 2014.He explained: "We roughly run about 30 to 40 and we are pretty much full up all of the time. Through to November we can't do a week or more unless we get any cancellations."I think people going away on holiday after Covid is a factor, demand for cat places is obviously finite and more cats seem to come into Norfolk with the population increase."It's more of a complex thing then just Covid but that's definitely a factor."Marina Murdoch has run Clay Cottage Cattery in Cranworth, near Watton, with her husband Mark since 2014.They have expanded since then and now have 20 cat chalets in their garden which are regularly occupied.
"I'm fully booked all the way through to November," said Mrs Murdoch. "We're just getting busier and busier over the years and we're now busy in the winter months that used to be quiet."So many catteries have shut that everyone with a cat is having to travel further. I'm taking on two to three customers a week."We've actually had the cattery on the market for 18 months and not had anyone interested in taking over which has surprised us, as it's quite lucrative."You can pretty much name your price because it's about supply and demand – and the demand is outrageous."Cats Protection estimated that UK cat ownership dropped from 11 million in 2023 to 10.6 million last year.The charity offers advice on holiday options and urges owners to "book a cattery far in advance" of any trip.Tracy McGowan runs Maccy G Pets, a pet sitting service based in Norwich, with her husband Lea and has also been inundated with enquiries in recent months.She said: "I have noticed a big increase this year in new customers contacting me, a lot higher than previous years, so I guess that is as a result of catteries being full."
The couple's service includes going into people's homes when they are away to feed their pet, change litter trays and spend time with them.Mrs McGowan added: "I send my customers a video every day of their cat doing what they enjoy."It's usually a couple of minutes long and I find that my customers really enjoy having a video, especially if they have children as well."
Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Top Gear
2 minutes ago
- Top Gear
Electric Car Grant: here's every car in the UK that gets the discount
Good news: the Electric Car Grant has returned! As surely everyone is thinking, ain't no party like an ECG party. And like all good ECG parties, this one comes with fun like: rules! Stipulations! Eligibility criteria! The government of the United Kingdom has introduced two bands in order to obtain this ECG: Band 1, which offers a fat £3,750 discount for those cars with the lowest CO2 manufacturing footprint, and Band 2, which offers a less fat £1,500 discount for those cars above a certain threshold. The government of the United Kingdom has not yet confirmed what those thresholds are, and… no electric car in the United Kingdom currently qualifies for the fat £3,750 discount. So for now, here's a big list of every car that gets the less fat £1,500 off. Advertisement - Page continues below The hot version of the new Renault 5 supermini. How much of the grant applies? £1,500 (Band 2). So what does it cost after the grant? From £32,000. What do you think of it? It's a very different experience to hot Clios of old, but still a good one… there's a sense of humour, good looks, usable performance, gadgets to play with and it's well priced. Read the full review here You might like It's the electric version of Citroen's best-selling car ever, the C3. How much of the grant applies? £1,500. So what does it cost after the grant? From £20,595. What do you think of it? There's a lot we really, really like about the Citroen e-C3… and not a lot we don't. Read the full review here Advertisement - Page continues below Essentially a slightly larger, raised version of the standard C3 supermini. How much of the grant applies? £1,500. So what does it cost after the grant? From £21,595. What do you think of it? It fulfils its brief as a slightly roomier C3 without becoming too posh or too expensive. Read our full review here Good question. It's still a hatchback, but slightly taller. Not tall enough to be an SUV, and too sleek of boot to be a crossover. How much of the grant applies? £1,500. So what does it cost after the grant? From £26,150. What do you think of it? It's an interestingly styled hatch with a very reasonable asking price. Read our full review here Largely identical to the e-C4, only with an elongated rear end. How much of the grant applies? £1,500. So what does it cost after the grant? From £27,215. What do you think of it? Could do with a slightly firmer setup for better body control: the extra weight (over 200kg vs the hybrid) means it suffers from a bounce and a wallowyness that isn't there in the hybrids. Read the full review here A big, friendly Citroen, now in its second generation and freshly electrified. How much of the grant applies? £1,500. What will it cost? From £32,565. What do you think of it? We've not driven it yet, but it sits on the same bones as the Peugeot e-3008 and e-5008, and both of those are decent... Read the full story here Advertisement - Page continues below A van-based car that offers immense practicality and loads of space. How much of the grant applies? £1,500. So what does it cost after the grant? From £29,740. What do you think of it? Enormously practical and built for family life, the Berlingo does all you could realistically ask of it. Read our full review here Only Nissan's second attempt at an electric car since it introduced the Leaf in 2010 and stole a march on everyone. How much of the grant applies? £1,500. So what does it cost after the grant? From £33,500. What do you think of it? Looks fun, but drives a bit more like you'd expect a Nissan to. If you're after an electric family SUV with a decent amount of range, then you could do a lot worse. Read our full review here Advertisement - Page continues below Everyone's favourite learner car, here reimagined as an electrified supermini, ready to be silently dinged into oblivion by an entirely new generation of drivers. How much of the grant applies? £1,500. So what does it cost after the grant? From £21,495. What do you think of it? We've yet to drive the new one, but it's the based on the 'AmpR Small' platform that underpins the award-winning Renault 5. Find out more here Closely related to the wonderful Renault 5 EV, but with an 8cm longer wheelbase. That's why it's a little more expensive than the R5, even if their names might make you think the prices are the other way around. How much of the grant applies? £1,500. So what does it cost after the grant? From £25,495. What do you think of it? There's goodness in the R4 that goes beyond design: the interior is sublime, the tech is well executed, it's value for money and (most importantly of all) unfailingly uplifting to drive. Renault has hit another home run with this. Read our full review here More than just a simple electric supermini, this is a small car you desire rather than merely decide upon. How much of the grant applies? £1,500. So what does it cost after the grant? From £21,495. What do you think of it? It feels consistent: as charming to drive as it is to look at and to sit in. Your first love should last. Read our full review here Renault's family hatch, designed and built all-in for battery power. How much of the grant applies? £1,500. So what does it cost after the grant? From £30,995. What do you think of it? The Megane is conventionally desirable, handsome, well-finished and easy to use... there's very little wrong with it. Read our full review here It's a long-ish wheelbase, long-range electric family car. How much of the grant applies? £1,500. So what does it cost after the grant? From £35,495. What do you think of it? Space, efficiency and superb tech count in the Scenic's favour. But it's also good-looking on the outside and well-finished within. Read our full review here It's an Astra. And specifically, the Astra Electric. There aren't many more recognisable names in the heartland of British motoring these days. How much of the grant applies? £1,500. So what does it cost after the grant? From £32,630. What do you think of it? We like the eighth-generation Astra, and the electric one is the best of the lot… we're just not head-over-heels in love with it. Read our full review here In case you hadn't guessed yet, it's the fully electric version of one of Britain's best-selling cars. How much of the grant applies? £1,500. So what does it cost after the grant? From £25,280. What do you think of it? It's significantly less peacocky than its Honda or Mini rivals, and it'll go further and has bags more room for people. Read our full review here Vauxhall Combo Life Electric The same van-based car as the Citroen e-Berlingo and the Peugeot e-Rifter. How much of the grant applies? £1,500. So what does it cost after the grant? From £30,690. What do you think of it? The Combo is well judged for family life and makes no misguided attempts at sportiness. Read our full review here Vauxhall Frontera Electric It's the new Vauxhall Frontera, making its return after a 20-year absence. How much of the grant applies? £1,500. So what does it cost after the grant? From £23,995. What do you think of it? It feels well judged. Its driving manners exceeded our expectations, it blends the company's now familiar image with the kind of rugged looks people favour these days, and above all there's no arguing with the cost. Read the full review here Vauxhall Grandland Electric It's the second-generation Vauxhall Grandland, available for the first time with electric power, in case you hadn't already guessed by the name. How much of the grant applies? £1,500. So what does it cost after the grant? From £34,555. What do you think of it? This is a car you'll buy with your sensible shoes on, and not those fluorescent trainers you got on a whim and haven't worn since. Read our full review here Vauxhall's smallest crossover. How much of the grant applies? £1,500. So what does it cost after the grant? From £30,180. What do you think of it? What the Mokka does is make a Corsa-sized crossover more interesting than it has any right to be. Read the full review here
The Sun
3 minutes ago
- The Sun
Amazon shoppers rush to buy Flash Speedmop kit with 48% off – ‘leaves floors sparkling'
Cleaning products can be a hidden cost when running a household, so if you find a good deal it can really help save money. Right now, you can get the Flash Speedmop Floor Cleaner Starter Kit for almost half price, as it's reduced from £25 to £13. Flash Speedmop Floor Cleaner Starter Kit £13 (was £22) Hard floors like wood and laminate may be slightly easier to clean than carpet, but it can still take effort to tackle stuck-on food and dirt. If you favour specific brands for your cleaning products, and you're not heading to Amazon for deals on them, you could be paying more than you need to. A mop is a basic cleaning necessity but the Flash Speedmop is an easy to use, mess-free alternative. The starter pack comes with the mop itself, plus 8 wet cloths for spills and stubborn stains and 15 dry cloths for dust and dirt. All you have to do to set us is connect the poles, and attach a sheet to the mop head. The head swivels, so you can clean difficult areas, like beneath sofas and under furniture. A Flash Speedmop is more convenient than the traditional mop, needing no water or cleaning fluid, and offering easy disposal. The main difference is that you need to keep stocked up on the cloths, which is why the current deal is so handy. Buying from Amazon also means home delivery, so when you run out you won't have to rush to a supermarket. Over 7,000 shoppers have left reviews on the Speedmop, which has now become an Amazon bestseller. One shopper said: ''The Flash SpeedMop is incredibly easy to use and convenient, which makes it great for busy mums or anyone looking to speed up their cleaning.'' ''The spray mechanism is handy, and the pre-moistened pads really help cut down on the effort needed to get floors sparkling clean.'' ''Many users find it effective on both sticky messes and light dusting, especially in high-traffic areas.'' Another shopper added: ''Wow this is so good - easy to fit and to store, takes up virtually no room.'' ''It cleans up brilliantly and wow the dirt it picks up, also the lemon smell is really nice, and the floor dries really fast.'' best vacuum cleaners.
Telegraph
3 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Work is under way to turn this firm around – optimists could cash in
Questor is The Telegraph's stock-picking column, helping you decode the markets and offering insights on where to invest. Micro-cap stocks are not for everyone and risk-intolerant investors can look away now, especially if they remember this column's past misadventures in this area with stocks such as Xaar (XAR), the now-renamed Chesterfield Special Cylinders (CSC:AIM), or Pressure Technologies, as was, and the now-delisted Zytronic. But one of our more successful forays here was wallpaper-to-fabrics group Sanderson Design (SDG:AIM), where we more than doubled our money and then took profits north of 200p. A subsequent lengthy slide in the share price catches our eye, not least as it leaves the stock trading very cheaply indeed relative to current net assets, let alone any earnings figure that represents anything like a return to form for the company. Once known as Walker Greenbank, Sanderson Design has a rich heritage and strong brands, which include Zoffany, Harlequin, Sanderson and Morris & Co, but the last three years have been ones to forget for the Chiswick-headquartered company. Weak consumer confidence has dampened sales across its brand, manufacturing and licensing activities, while the company has invested heavily in digital marketing and production. Last year's £16.3m write-down of intangible assets relating to 2016's purchase of Clarke & Clarke took Sanderson into the red on a statutory basis and the dividend was cut. Throw in April's tariff scares, thanks to President Trump's 'Liberation Day' trade agenda, and during spring, the share price hit lows not seen since Covid-19 was doing its worst in early 2020, and before that in 2010. Chair Dianne Thompson and chief executive, Lisa Montague, are working on a cost-cutting programme, driven by an efficiency drive called Future Factory, where digitisation has a key role. Efforts to enhance sales in the US could yet bear fruit, even if the impact of tariffs must still be closely monitored, and the power of the company's brands can be seen in the licensing income they generate through agreements such as those struck with Next and Sainsbury's. In the meantime, Sanderson ended its last financial year in January with £5.8m in cash and no debt. Adjust that figure for a pension surplus and lease liabilities, and net borrowing is limited, so there is no clock ticking away in the background, and this month's trading statement reveals the cash pile is now £7.5m. The lowly valuation attributed to the company further protects the downside. The stock market capitalisation of £36m compares to tangible net assets on the balance sheet as of the January year-end of £57.5m, or just under 80p a share. If momentums return to the business – and it does remain an 'if' – that level is the very least we would expect of the share price. This is also a business that has been capable of making £5m to £8m in net profit in solid years and more than £10m in really good ones, such as 2018. The £36m market valuation looks low against such figures, and any return to those levels would put the shares on a single-digit price-to-earnings multiple. We must be aware of the risks posed by the mixed, if not downright confusing, macroeconomic backdrop, and how it is never as easy as it looks to really crack the US market – even if management believes it can be done. Moreover, any brave buyer of the shares will need a positive catalyst of some kind to persuade others to start thinking their way. The trading update was far from strong, as it flagged a 4pc drop in sales for the first six months of the financial year to January 2026. However, licensing income was strong, brand revenues showed some signs of stabilisation, and the cost cuts were sufficient to prompt management to reiterate their belief that it would improve to a break-even result this time around, after last year's loss. In sum, the Board did not have to disgorge a profit warning. Sometimes all it takes with heavily beaten down stocks is for the rate of decline in sales and profits to slow, especially if management is acting and the balance sheet offers support, as seems to be the case here. Investors then start to think that if a bottom may be in sight, then things will stop getting worse, and that if things stop getting worse, then they may soon get better. Such a thought process, backed up in time by improved profits and cash flow, could just be the catalyst that patient contrarians will seek as they do their research and weigh up the chances of a recovery in Sanderson Design's shares. We now wait to see the first-half results on October 15.
