PORTRAIT. Former chef, he opens a boarding house for cats in his garden

From the street, you can see several chalets in the garden of this pretty house in Labastide-Marnhac. “During the work, everyone stopped to ask us what we were doing!” laughs Christian Beyne. The latter has just opened his cat boarding house “Chalets félins 46”, after working in the restaurant business for more than twenty years.

“I've been thinking about this project for a long time. We thought about it during confinement. I was at home, and it was great. I took the time, I was with my children. I was there for breakfast, lunch, homework and even in the evening, before, I met them quickly when they came home from school, but I went to work,” says the man who worked at La Chartreuse. He continues: “At the beginning, launching a boarding house for cats was a joke to leave the restaurant business. But by dint of joking…”. His partner, Charline, who supported him a lot in this adventure, adds: “By messing around, we started taking measurements in the garden!” And this is how the desire to build a cat boarding house in front of his home and change activities was born.

The Beyne family has two cats. “When we go on vacation, we put them in a boarding house in Montat. But it was often full, you had to book six months in advance. In the department, there isn't much for cats. There was something to be done,” says Christian.

Ten little cat cottages

Christian benefits from “resignation and retraining” assistance and is monitored by the Chamber of Trades. “We shouldn’t screw up. Financially, we had to remain reasonable,” he concedes. The latter passes the Acaced, training necessary to access activities and professions, in particular, dog/feline breeding. Once the Lotois is sure of his project, all that remains is to get started.

First of all, you have to modify the sloping terrain of the house. The artisans parade. “At the beginning, we wanted to build just one building. But we wanted to cut down as few trees as possible, so that wasn’t possible,” says Christian. The latter therefore opted for several small chalets. He builds them himself, with the help of Charline's father. They spend the whole summer there. On the grounds, there are 10 chalets which can accommodate up to three cats from the same family, as well as a small office. “It’s in our garden, so we wanted something cute that blended in with nature,” says the former chef. The owner of the Montat cat boarding house helped the couple. “She gave us very good advice. At Christmas, she was full, so she sent us clients. And we can always have our cats looked after at her place to go on vacation!”, laughs Christian.

“With my old job, I was a little on edge”

Everything is designed for the comfort of cats. Each chalet is named after the couple's children: Kitty, Grosminet… The chalet, heated, has several shelves for the cats to climb as well as different cat trees. Outside, small terraces have been set up. Thanks to a cat flap, cats can decide whether or not to go out (while remaining in a safety lock). All boxes are visible from each other. And above all, some saw the family henhouse, a little extra for the families who left their furballs. “We spend the whole day there, from 7:30 a.m. until 11 p.m. You have to be patient. With my old job, I was a little on edge. There, it allows me to relax with the cats. There is interesting work to be done on their character. We adapt to each of them. We had a 16-year-old grandma: we went down every day because she didn't climb anymore. and his ham in the evening,” says Christian. Food is not provided, this allows the Lotois to really adapt to the animals' habits.

The feline chalets opened their doors at the beginning of December. During the holidays, the pension was 60% full. Something to start gently. “Seven chalets were taken. And some cats had long stays. We regularly give news of the cats to their owners. For Christmas and New Year, we tried to make small decorations,” says Christian. And in the clientele, not just Lotois: “We had Parisians who came to see their family. Their cat didn't get along with the one from Lot, so they had rented an AirBnB to separate them. In passing, they saw the pension and decided to drop off their cat there! We'll see him again, that's for sure.”

Christian is delighted with this new activity. “This is the first Christmas I was able to spend with my children,” he smiles. He concludes: “I hope it will work. It's nice to take care of the cats, and casually, we get attached to them. I don't feel like I'm going to work anymore!”