Lifestyles of the rich and furry

Meet the obscenely wealthy animals, whose owners left them everything Sabrina Maddeaux

Not to be outdone, cats are predictably situating themselves for world financial domination and lives of extreme luxury. Grumpy Cat is worth $100 million, Karl Lagerfeld’s white fluffball Choupette earns $4 million a year, and stray Italian cat Tomasso lucked out when he was adopted by an elderly woman named Maria Assunta, who left him a $13 million fortune.

The world’s richest chicken, Gigoo, has a property worth $10 million and a fleet of luxury cars to cross the road in style.

While most pets will never see upwards of seven figures attached to their names, there’s undeniably a growing upper class in the animal world, and many new businesses eager to cater to their needs. One of the biggest growth categories in the hospitality industry has been luxury pet hotels that rival human equivalents from the Four Seasons and RitzCarlton.

Essex Pooch Palace in Wickford, England, features centrally heated bedrooms, suites with chandeliers and tufted chairs, chauffeured pick-ups and drop-offs, butler greetings, day trips to beaches, a disco-themed spa and a private cinema where dog guests can watch their favourite movies. The D Pet Hotel in New York City will collect your dog in a Rolls Royce or Ferrari, while Chateau Poochie in Florida charters jets upon request and offers aromatherapy sessions, hair colour streaking and customized pet birthday parties.

The Ings Luxury Cat Hotel in West Yorkshire, England, has heated floors, private balconies, bespoke iron fourposter beds with goose feather bedding, 42-inch flat-screen TVs, organic catnip bubbles, bedtime stories accompanied by lactose-free milk, LED mood lighting complete with a Saturday night light show, personal pet jellyfish and virtual firefly entertainers. The room service menu includes fresh line-caught filet of sea bass, Canadian cold water prawns garnished with catnip and braised beef liver topped with a dash of creme fraiche. For extra VIP treatment, a feline can enjoy a massage with hot towels.

Emerging designers might be better off designing haute dog clothes up more than 25 per cent from 2010, despite the number of pet owners remaining relatively the same in that period. Most of the industry growth has been in the luxury and high-end sectors. Reports of wealthy elites naming dogs, cats and monkeys in their wills while cutting out offspring and siblings are increasingly common – and have led to more than a few contentious legal battles over family fortunes.

It’s no coincidence we’ve grown closer to (and more willing to spend on) our pets as we’ve become more distant from other humans. Massive pet inheritances began to trend when the divorce rate spiked, and with millennials waiting longer to marry and have children, more North Americans than ever live alone. The percentage of single households has almost doubled since 1970. Many people are filling emotional voids by spoiling their pets. Psychologists say that caring for a pet releases the same powerful oxytocin response that rewards us when we care for other humans. This also makes them uniquely able to de-stress us during trying economic, political and social times.

However, much like starting a human family, supporting a pet family is increasingly a privilege most people take for granted. Like their human counterparts, the animal world is experiencing unprecedented wealth disparity. As a lucky few live the high life, incidences of animal cruelty, animal testing and homeless animals are on the rise. In many cities, the disappearance of pet-friendly rental housing (especially for certain breeds) is a growing problem. The most recent recession saw a jump in abandoned pets, and the Calgary Humane Society reported a spike in abandonments when Alberta encountered an economic downturn in 2015.

Rather than buying Fido another collar bedazzled with Swarovski crystals, perhaps dedicated pet lovers with money to spare could consider helping less fortunate furballs and – if they’re feeling especially generous – maybe even their human companions on the wrong side of the pet wealth gap.