Overview
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Why hygiene in an animal shelter starts with the design of the intake enclosure

As a manager or caretaker at an animal shelter, you know that the pressure to maintain hygiene protocols is extremely high every day. With a constant turnover of animals—whose medical history or vaccination status is often unknown—preventing cross-contamination and infections is paramount. Vulnerable, stressed, or rescued stray animals need a safe place to settle down. At Petfort, we’ve been translating our 50 years of expertise in professional animal shelters into smart designs that make your daily work safer and more efficient. We believe that a hygienic shelter doesn’t start with the cleaning crew, but right from the very first line on the drawing board.

Why We Choose Fully Glued Enclosures

In many shelters, you still see cages with traditional tongue-and-groove profiles. Although this is a fine, sturdy foundation, tongue-and-groove joints pose risks in an intensive shelter environment. Over time, hair, urine, feces, and stubborn germs inevitably accumulate in the microscopic cracks and seams of such a tongue-and-groove profile.

We address this with our fully bonded enclosures. We construct the frames from natural anodized aluminum and bond and screw the 3 mm white HPL wall panels in place to create a completely seamless finish. The 6 mm white HPL flooring also extends under the walls and is “hidden” with screws and adhesive. How does this technique benefit your shelter in day-to-day operations?

• Minimal risk of infection: There are simply no open seams or cracks where dirt or moisture can seep in. This minimizes the risk of spreading contagious diseases (such as parvo or cat flu) among vulnerable animals.

• Waterproof construction: If a frightened or sick animal urinates or loses fluids, it stays contained within its own compartment without seeping into the cages below.

• Lightning-fast cleaning: The smooth surface of white HPL and anodized aluminum offers optimal chemical resistance. You can effortlessly and thoroughly disinfect the enclosures with heavy-duty cleaning agents after each use.

Comfort and smart features for an efficient workflow

An intake or quarantine enclosure at the shelter must be functionally supportive of your daily operations. Because we focus exclusively on custom solutions, a cage system from us is never a standard product. We work with you to understand your team’s specific workflow and can equip the enclosures with innovative features that make the hard work easier and safer, such as:

• Integrated floor heating: Installed in the rear section of the floor. Using a central thermostat, you can set the perfect temperature for animals that are cold or recovering, while the front remains unheated so the animal can choose its own comfort zone.

• Oxygen options: Plexiglass doors (8 mm PMMA) featuring a specific ventilation pattern, or separate oxygen panels that you can easily hang in front of mesh or slatted doors when a newly admitted animal needs immediate respiratory support.

• Operational convenience: Think of dual-grounded wall outlets for medical equipment, handy aluminum or acrylic writing trays on the doors for medical records, and fully custom-made cabinet walls or mobile bases to allow for flexible repositioning of the cages.

Your partner in safe shelter care: From quarantine to kennel design

Whether you need a compact, well-organized cage system for daycare, a fully seamless quarantine area for isolating contagious cases, or a complete kennel setup with dog crates and walk-in kennels, Petfort advises and delivers.

It’s no coincidence that our enclosures have been used in countless shelters and boarding facilities for decades. We are also the proud, long-standing supplier to animal rescue organizations in both the Netherlands and Germany. Every day, they rely on our promise: a rattle-free, safe fortress that effortlessly withstands the test of time and meets the highest hygiene standards.

Customization from A to Z: To measure is to know

Do you have a unique space with a sloped roof, a specific corner in your shelter, or very specific health and safety requirements for your staff? We don’t believe in smooth-talking sales pitches and won’t try to sell you anything; we’d rather provide a solution that really works. That’s why we always come to your location by appointment to take measurements and provide advice. We’d rather measure three times than get it wrong once.

Would you like to raise hygiene, safety, and efficiency at your shelter to the highest standards? Feel free to send us a photo of the space and its approximate dimensions for a no-obligation, customized quote, or schedule a visit to our workshop in Gemert.