Woodgreen Animal Shelter, Godmanchester, England

Woodgreen Animal Shelter, one of the top shelters in England, intrigued me for many reasons. One of three facilities, the Godmanchester shelter uses some “green” concepts such as a wind turbine that powers the facility (they sell surplus energy to the power company). Located on 52 acres, other animals besides cats and dogs are also rehomed from here. Staff at Woodgreen has figured out how to incorporate the community into their philosophy so they are part of the community not just a place to go adopt a pet. Weddings are held on site, they have conference amenities, a tea room, a cafeteria, a thrift store and a shop.

The Woodgreen cattery and garden are Japanese. Dennis Baker, CEO of Woodgreen, says each unit can act as an individual isolation unit with a separate air supply to keep outbreaks of illness down. They like this type of cattery because they feel cats receive more attention, and can be viewed more easily especially shy cats. With that said, numbers can’t be disputed . . . the average turn-around rate for adoption of cats from these units is 17 days.

Each unit has an interior and an exterior with a cat door separating the two. The exterior unit feature glass sneeze shields and overlook a landscaped garden with bird feeders for enrichment. This gives the cats something of interest to gaze upon. Constructed of wood, Woodgreen knew the buildings would be a temporary fix, yet have lasted longer than originally anticipated. Plans are underway to reconstruct each building out of brick.

Several catteries grouped together with a Japanese style garden surrounding the buildings.

Japanese style architecture of cattery. These buildings will be reconstructed out of brick.

Cafeteria at Woodgreen supplies additional funding.