Cottage Fresh Vent System™

Snyder Manufacturing Company’s introduction of its Cat Cottages™ with Litter Pan Hiders™ in 1998 added a new dimension to cat boarding. We have developed yet another exciting option to this very popular product line.

With the new Cottage Fresh™ Vent System each compartment of our Litter Pan Units has its own vent that funnels into a four-inch central vent pipe in the rear of the unit. This central vent is easily adapted to your HVAC system. It is contained in the Litter Pan Hider area with a false wall that still allows for plenty of room in the litter pan compartment.

Do you need to improve the ventilation in your cat boarding or clinic treatment area?

Would you like to help eliminate the perpetual “veterinary hospital smell” while improving the air quality for both your employees and your patients? Do you want to provide impressive upscale boarding options for your feline owner clientele?

Snyder’s Cat Cottages™ with Litter Pan Hiders™ and the Cottage Fresh™ Vent System is your solution!

Technical Highlights

  • Individual negative pressure cage exhaust eliminates cage/cat odors
  • Has helped to eliminate all Upper Respiratory Infection from ‘re-breathed’ air
  • Makes the hospital staff healthier by getting a better air exchange in the building
  • Cats like the constant air exchanges and settle near the air vents
  • Clients always comment that this does not smell like a veterinary hospital!
  • Room exhaust fans circulate and mix the air so smell is eliminated

Major Components of the System

  • Roof mounted exhaust fan of between 400-600 CFM (Cubic Feet per Meter) capacity depends on number of cages and the size of the cages. If you are exhausting cage air – your HVAC system must have adequate air intake into the building to replace the lost air. This loss in ‘air’ efficiency is worth the gain in patient health, improved client perception of a clean hospital, and your staff will feel better.
  • Metal ducting from the cage room to the roof exhaust fan.
  • Collection plenum where the cage ducts connect into the exhaust fan.
  • 4″ exhaust vent grilles in the cages connect to 4″ PVC pipe which connects to a 6″ PVC pipe which in turn connects to a 12″ x 12″ metal exhaust fan ducting.
  • Each cage needs 25-30 CFM (depending on size) exhaust to make the system work well.
  • A ‘room’ air input valve (damper) can be put on each cage ducting to adjust the exhaust pressure more precisely… we have not done this.

The system is simple, can be done by a ‘do-it-your-selfer’ or have your HVAC contractor do it. If the HVAC people have a clue about your building all they need to know is how many CFMs you want to draw and they can easily build you a system. Snyder can build various configuration of cages with the 4″ exhaust grates and 4″ PVC cage connection piping that can be connected to your exhaust fan system.

You can also use the exhaust system with a regulation valve to exhaust your anesthesia gases using plastic bulge pump plastic tubing. The regulation valve is necessary to give you very low air flow or your anesthetic ‘draw’ will be excessive.

Room air >>> Cage air >>> Exhaust duct air >>> Exhausted air to outside. . . there is never any re-circulation of ‘bad’ air. 

This system can be modified for special uses – Radio-iodine wards, Isolation wards, Boarding, and Hospital wards.

Compiled in Cooperation with James K. Olson, DVM, DABVP (Feline Specialty)