CAT DISCRIMINATION
NYT: France’s Pro-Pet Hotels Are Dog’s Best Friend
As part of a campaign to lure customers–particularly rich Americans who will travel only with their best friends– the newly renovated, four-star hotel is now offering a $400-a-night Heavenly Pets package.
For that price, the dog and his or her owner receive a “deluxe” double room including breakfast. (Cats are allowed but have to rough it–there is no program for them, although on request the chef will prepare a special cat-friendly meal.)
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France has long been a country where dogs have a special status. The 8.8 million dogs that live here easily ride public transportation, sometimes govern the sidewalks and are warmly welcomed in restaurants.
Now, I’ve got nothin’ against dogs, even if they are smelly, drooly, and prone to making loud noises. Not to mention eating their own waste products. But what’s up with the second-class treatment for cats?
Yet another reason to dislike the French.
I can understand the differential treatment – and I am a cat lover. Can you imagine a cat tolerating a program planned by anyone other than the cat in question?
A dog would go on a package tour, but a cat would plan her own iternerary. The French are merely recognizing the independent, nonconformist spirit of the cat. The only way to offer pet-oriented services to a cat is a la carte.
Ever read The Cat Who Went To Paris? Norton wasn’t getting any “second-class” treatment!
Agree w/Kija- easy to plan activities for dogs, impossible for cats. Which may be why there are lots of people in the business of training dogs, and almost none offering “obedience schools” for cats.
I also vote for the rather simple, “The Cat who Walks By Himself” theory.
Cats Raison D’etre: Target Practice.