Who’s the Most Pampered of Them All?

What’s the craziest thing you do for your pet?

All over the country, the phrase “pampered pets” is being taken to a whole new level by pet owners and enthusiasts looking for the very best for their furry friends. At Morris Animal Inn, we pamper our pets with cat and dog services like luxury kitty suites with televisions and our indoor pool and aqua center, and we are always excited to hear about new pet amenities. Here are some of our recent favorites!

In New York, one family has made the most of the space in their small Brooklyn home by creating what they call “Kittyloft”; an indoor cat playground that runs up and down their walls. Both interior designers, homeowners Bill Hilgendorf and Maria Christina Rueda told Forbes Magazine that they put their design skills to the test by creating a shelf-like, brightly colored obstacle course that leads their cats up and down sets of stairs, over doorframes and across kitchen cabinets. Their cats are known to run the loop at top speed! 

San Diego International Airport now offers unisex bathrooms… for pets! As reported by Patch.com and Huff Post Live, the airport hosts a number of “Pet Relief” stations, which consists of an indoor room with fresh turf, a fire hydrant for pet pit-stops and even includes a bag dispenser for easy clean up and a hand-washing station for pet owners. Though all airports are required to have pet relief stations somewhere on site, this airport has given pups some first-class perks by moving stations to easily accessible indoor areas of the terminal. 

Rural Pennsylvania may be filled with woods for your dog to play in, but at one home in Newton Square, you’d never have to worry about muddy footprints on the carpet. The home, according to Forbes, devotes one of its four and a half bathrooms to the dogs with a customized dog “mudroom,” complete with a deep farmer’s sink, plenty of cabinet space and a built-in canine shower with a mosaic of pets running around the walls.

Though we can’t claim to have a “Kittyloft” of our own, our kitty playroom offers multiple climbing poles, laser light toys and even a kitty wheel! Do you have any crazy ways that you pamper your pet?

Couch Potato Pet – TV for Cats and Dogs?

Bouncing balls, birds and squirrels and flying Frisbees can all do wonders for capturing your pet’s attention. But what if these stimuli are on a TV screen?

DogTV, a subscription-based television channel made just for pets, offers a series of relaxing, stimulating, and even behavior-improving video segments for pets to watch from the comforts of home. The channel, launched in 2012, aims to provide distraction and entertainment for pets that tend to get into trouble when left home alone. At Morris Animal Inn, we play Critter TV in our luxury cat suites, where curious cats can watch birds hop around on the screen.

With all this modern technology going to the dogs (and cats!), we can’t help but wonder; do our pets really watch TV?

There is a range of opinions on the effectiveness of DogTV, as discussed on New York Times’ Well Pet blog. DogTV spokeswoman Bonnie Vieira explained that the show may serve as a calming tool. “For dogs who suffer from separation anxiety, DogTV is a tool that might help ease them, so maybe they’re not getting into trouble, and they’re happier, more relaxed, when you get home,” she said. 

The calming tool may be more for the humans than for the dogs, however, explained Dr. Ann E. Hohenhaus, a staff veterinarian at the Animal Medical Center in New York City. “I think a lot of this is to make us feel better as opposed to making the pet happier,” she said, acknowledging that leaving DogTV on for a pet left at home alone may help give owners peace of mind that their dog will have something to do. 

Just like with humans, pets watching TV may be a simple matter of preference. Some dogs could enjoy watching television, while others might just not be interested. The chances of your pet tuning in are highest if the channel is played on a high-quality television and at the dog’s eye-level.

As for cats, a lot of our feline guests just can’t get enough of Critter TV. Watching becomes an interactive experience for the pets who swat at the screen to catch what they think are pesky birds.

What do you think? Could your furry friend be a Couch Potato Pet?