Setting Up a Cattery in Singapore: Layout, Cost & Assembly

Setting up a cattery in Singapore is a construction project before it is a cat business — and the airflow, drainage and zoning decisions are the expensive ones to change after handover. Here is what matters in the layout, where your own AVS licensing fits in, what renovation costs at $150-$280/sqft, and when prefab enclosure assembly from S$60 per task is the smarter route.

Quick Answer: The Cattery Setup Reality Check

• Renovation cost: $150-$280/sqft (see cattery renovation Singapore)
• Prefab enclosure / cabin assembly: from S$60 per assembly task via the installation team
• Construction timeline: 3-6 weeks on site for a 500-1,500 sqft floor
• Licensing: you apply to AVS and hold the licence — check current requirements before design freeze
• The two non-negotiables: a separate isolation room and an escape-proof double-door entry

Step 1: Plan the Layout Before You Touch the Unit

A cattery is not an open room with cages in it — it is a set of zones with different airflow, drainage and cleaning needs, and the partitions between them are what you pay for:

A S$10 fuel surcharge applies to every visit. No additional standard call-out or inspection fee applies. Urgent service or a customer-requested appointment time adds one S$30 fee, subject to technician availability and confirmation. The S$30 is a separate service fee. Pricing terms.

Escape-proofing is a layout decision, not a hardware purchase

Most escapes happen at the front door and at windows. The entry needs a true airlock: two self-closing doors. Partitions run full height or get mesh-capped — cats treat a 2.4 m wall as a climbing frame. Openable windows get fixed mesh; every hatch and aircon penetration gets sealed. A retail-with-cats concept follows pet shop renovation zoning; add food service and it becomes a cat cafe build with SFA requirements on top.

Step 2: Ventilation, Odour Control and Wash-Down Drainage

Usually the largest cost block after partitions, and the part first-time operators underestimate most: litter odour is an ammonia problem, and in a sealed, air-conditioned unit the first to notice are the neighbouring tenants. The scope typically covers:

• Mechanical extraction sized to the room load — not a single wall fan; air must actually move through each cat room
• Fresh-air intake positioned away from neighbouring units
• Sealed, easy-wash wall and floor surfaces — washable paint or panels, coved skirtings, no raw plaster
• Floor traps on a wash-down drainage run — so litter areas can be hosed daily, not mopped

Check drainage before signing anything: no floor trap near the planned wash bay means a pipe run to the nearest stack — and the longer the run, the more floor gets opened up.

Step 3: Your AVS Licensing Position (Informational)

Board other people's cats commercially and you, the operator, will generally need an animal boarding licence from the Animal & Veterinary Service (AVS, under NParks); the premises must satisfy their housing, hygiene and welfare conditions. Two planning implications:

• The licence is yours, not your contractor's. You apply for it, hold it and face the inspections. FixMove plans and builds the space against the conditions your application needs to meet — it does not obtain or hold the licence for you.
• Check the current official requirements before design freeze. Space per cat, isolation and hygiene expectations can change — verify them on official AVS/NParks channels, and confirm permitted premises use with your landlord before committing.

Step 4: Renovation Cost — $150-$280/sqft

Cattery renovation prices at $150-$280/sqft. The bottom of the band is a unit with usable drainage and ventilation routes already in place; the top is a bare unit needing full mechanical ventilation, long drainage runs and many small rooms. Straight arithmetic on that band gives:

A S$10 fuel surcharge applies to every visit. No additional standard call-out or inspection fee applies. Urgent service or a customer-requested appointment time adds one S$30 fee, subject to technician availability and confirmation. The S$30 is a separate service fee. Pricing terms.

Every figure is a planning reference, not a quote — the itemised price follows plan review and a site survey. Weekends and public holidays are charged at normal rates; only the start time changes the price (21:00-24:00 +30%, 00:00-06:00 +50%).

Step 5: Prefab Enclosures and Cattery Cabins — Assembly From S$60

Not everything has to be built on site. Prefab cat enclosures, cattery cabins, climbing walls, cat shelves and catio-style mesh frames are assembled and installed from S$60 per assembly task through FixMove's installation service — send product photos or the supplier manual for a per-unit quote. Prefab suits short leases, phased budgets and capacity you may want to reconfigure later; built works still carry what prefab cannot — drainage, ventilation, wet-area surfaces and the entry airlock — so most well-planned catteries end up hybrid. Enclosures, cabins and fittings can also be sourced and supplied as one package with the fit-out.

Realistic Timeline

1. Weeks 1-2: layout design + approvals in parallel — freeze the zone plan, confirm premises use, start your AVS preparation.
2. Weeks 2-3: drainage and wet works first — floor traps, pipe runs, waterproofing.
3. Weeks 3-4: ventilation and partitions — ducting, extraction, room dividers.
4. Weeks 4-5: cat rooms, mesh work and finishes — doors, mesh panels, washable surfaces.
5. Week 6: assembly, deep clean and inspection prep — prefab units anchored, systems tested, space documented for inspection.

The 6 Mistakes That Cost the Most

1. Signing a lease with no drainage path — retrofitting a wash-down run across a finished floor is the most expensive way to buy a floor trap.
2. Skipping the isolation room to fit one more cat room — one respiratory outbreak in shared air costs more than the room ever would.
3. Under-sizing ventilation — if the smell hits you at the door, the extraction is losing.
4. A single entry door — every visit becomes an escape risk; an airlock removes it structurally.
5. Porous finishes — raw plaster, unsealed grout and untreated timber absorb odour and cannot take daily washing.
6. Buying prefab cabins before the layout is fixed — early purchases block the airflow plan or don't fit the finished rooms.

Closing Checklist Before You Open

• Layout checked against current AVS requirements; your licence application in hand
• Isolation room physically separated with its own exhaust path
• Entry airlock tested — both doors never open at the same time
• All partitions full height or mesh-capped; windows and hatches meshed or sealed
• Every cat area hose-washable; floor traps flowing on the wash-down run
• Ventilation tested with all doors closed — the odour test happens sealed
• Prefab enclosures and shelves anchored and load-tested
• As-built plan and handover photos filed

Related Guides

• Cattery Renovation Singapore — full pricing + scope breakdown
• Installation Singapore — enclosure, cabin and shelving assembly
• Pet Shop Renovation Singapore — retail-plus-animals fit-out
• Cat Cafe Renovation Singapore — cats plus F&B compliance
• Commercial Renovation Singapore — all commercial trades hub

FAQ

Published: 29 Aug 2026 · Updated: 29 Aug 2026 · By FixMove Commercial Fit-Out Team · Operating across Joo Chiat, Sembawang, Tampines, Bukit Batok and light-industrial estates island-wide.