The Happy Cat HotelFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Formerly known as Happy Cat Hotel & Spa
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A The Happy Cat Hotel franchise requires a total initial investment of $465K – $781K, including a $50K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2026 FDD, average unit revenue was $520K[2]. Verdict grade: B. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 21, 2026 · figures per the 2026 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $465K – $781K
- 68th pct Pet Services
- Avg gross sales
- $520K
- 27th pct Pet Services
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 16th pct Pet Services
- Units
- 7
- 30th pct Pet Services
- SBA default
- N/A
Quick verdict · Pet Services · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Pet Services avg · No shading = within ±15% · Red = >15% below avg · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
The franchisor's auditor raised doubt about continued operations. This is a serious risk signal.
Bottom line
- Total investment $465K – $781K including a $50K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $520K/year.
- Verdict B (Above Average) with a risk score of 60/100.
- Auditor disclosed a going-concern note, which flagged doubt about the franchisor's ability to continue operations. Verify against the latest FDD.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- HAPPY CAT FRANCHISING, LLC
- Parent company
- Happy Cat Holdings, Inc.
- Incorporated in
- CT
- HQ
- 9 School Street, #6, East Granby, CT 06026
- Auditor
- Thoresen Diaby Helle Condon & Dodge, Inc.
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $208K
- vs $148K prior year
- ⚠ Going-concern note
- Disclosed in FDD 2026
- Auditor flagged doubt about continued operations. Verify against the latest FDD before deciding.
Affiliated brands
- Happy Cat Windsor
- Happy Cat East Granby
- Home Sweet Home Pet Care
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
The Happy Cat Hotel is a boarding and care facility for cats, where franchisees manage daily operations including animal intake, feeding, medical monitoring, environmental enrichment, and customer communication. Day-to-day responsibilities include staffing a facility with proper HVAC and sanitation, handling customer check-ins/check-outs, maintaining health records, and ensuring 24/7 animal welfare standards.
- CEO
- Christopher Raimo
- Headquarters
- CT
- Founded
- 2020
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 5
FDD Item 7 · 2026 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $50K | $50K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $38K | $64K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $377K | $667K |
| Total initial investment | $465K | $781K |
Source: The Happy Cat Hotel 2026 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
Single-unit · estimated
Returns at a glance
Indicative numbers using FDD Item 7 / Item 19 inputs and category-benchmarked cost ratios. Full single-unit, 25-unit portfolio, and LBO models (with every input editable to stress-test your own scenario) live on the financials page.
Store EBITDA · annual
$83K
16.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
12%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
8.1 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $465K – $781K
- Below avg, review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $38K – $64K
- Near category avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $25K – $50K
- Near category avg vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- percentage_of_gross · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 7.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $600 |
| Transfer fee | $6K |
| Renewal fee | $18K |
| Total fee load | 7.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $520K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- N/A
- Item 19 type
- Historical Actuals
- Sample size
- 5 units
- vs category median 12 · small
- Range (low → high)
- $322K→$695K
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency
- 6 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 75 Pet Services brands
Revenue is only 0.8x the investment. This means each unit may take 5+ years to recoup the initial outlay at typical margins.
vs Pet Services averages
How The Happy Cat Hotel Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 7
- Opened
- 1
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Turnover rate
- 0.0%
- Company-owned
- 2
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 71%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- +25.0%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- Outlier (see FDD)
- Likely small-sample artifact
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 8 states with active franchisees
The Territory Map
Derived from franchisee contact records. Shows states with at least one current operator. Not where the franchisor is registered to sell new units (that data is re-extracting in a future refresh).
States derived from franchisee contact records (FDD Item 20). Shows states with at least one current operator on file. Full state registration data (Item 12) will appear on a future FDD refresh.
Available to sell in · Item 12
- South Dakota
States where the franchisor is registered to sell new franchises (FDD registration filings).
Fast growth in a small system. Newer franchisors expanding quickly may not yet have the support infrastructure of larger systems.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 24
- Loan volume
- N/A
- Amount data pending
- Median loan
- N/A
- Charge-off rate
- N/A
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- N/A
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 0
- Defaults
- 0
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Minimal operational scale, undisclosed profitability, and absent earnings data create meaningful uncertainty around unit economics and franchisee ROI viability.
Litigation (Item 3)
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Thoresen Diaby Helle Condon & Dodge, Inc.⚠ Going-concern note flagged
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Must buy proprietary products: No
- Restricted to system-approved products: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 60 / 100 rating
- 01MEDNet income not disclosed in FDD — unable to validate profitability claims against $520K avg revenue
- 02MEDHigh initial investment ($464.5K–$781K) relative to disclosed average revenue ($520.5K) creates thin margin for error
- 03MINOROnly 7 units system-wide — extremely small franchise network limits data reliability and support infrastructure
- 04MINORNo Item 19 financial performance representation — franchisor provides no earnings claims or profit benchmarks
- 05MINORRapid unit growth rate (25% YoY) from tiny base may indicate aggressive expansion before system maturity
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | Demographic and radius based |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 60 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Connecticut |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 14 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 84 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Gingr
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Gingr
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
13 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
The Happy Cat Hotel · FDD (2026) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a The Happy Cat Hotel franchise?
The total investment to open a The Happy Cat Hotel franchise ranges from $465K – $781K, with an initial franchise fee of $50K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do The Happy Cat Hotel franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the The Happy Cat Hotel FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $520K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is The Happy Cat Hotel's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for The Happy Cat Hotel (fewer than 10 loans on file). Charge-off rates are one way to gauge franchise risk, but not all franchise loans go through the SBA program. We recommend reviewing turnover and closure data in the FDD and speaking with current franchisees.
How many The Happy Cat Hotel franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, The Happy Cat Hotel has 7 total units in the United States, including 1 franchised units and 2 company-owned units. 1 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is The Happy Cat Hotel a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates The Happy Cat Hotel as a B-grade franchise with a risk score of 60 out of 100, based on our analysis of investment costs, revenue data, SBA loan performance, and growth trends. Our rating is based solely on publicly available FDD and government data; we recommend speaking with current franchisees before making any investment decision. This is not investment advice.
Data sourced from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) FOIA records. Not financial advice.
For franchisors
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Data extracted from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) loan disclosures (FOIA). This information is provided for research purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Verify all figures with the franchisor's current Franchise Disclosure Document before making any investment decision.