Cats Go 1st Class : Luxury Pet Hotel Caters to Every Whim of Pampered Felines

China is about to usher in the Year of the Tiger, but in this coastal community, it is the Year of the Cat.

Cats, it seems, are the “in” pets of the yuppie generation this season as well as remaining the established favorites of all those pet owners who want a relatively care-free companion. The sum of this trend adds up to a plethora of cats.

Jennifer Perkins, owner of the Holiday Pet Hotel, which caters to dogs and birds, cashed in on this feline phenomenon in July by opening a posh cattery to end all catteries, complete with sunlit vacation suites, cuisine prepared to order, innovative cat furniture of washable imitation fur imported from Germany, and a beauty salon that washes, fluffs and dries the pampered felines.

The Cats’ Pajamas cattery offers “suites” for feline boarders from $6 to $15 a day and extra services--additional TLC--for $3 more. The accommodations include single rooms, double suites and triple suites in either the tastefully-decorated Sunrise Room, facing east, or west-facing Sunset Room.

Perkins admits that The Cat’s Pajamas is not for every cat or every cat owner. It is designed for those humans who have patterned their lives around their pets and their pet’s life around their own. When human vacations arrive, these cat owners can’t just dump their pets on a neighbor while they enjoy a cruise to Puerto Vallarta. They must book the Mexican Vacation Suite at Perkins’ cattery, where Mitzi or Snowball or Willy can enjoy gay colors, greenery, soft pillows and the sunny window ledge featured in each of the four vacation suites--Hawaiian, Mexican, French and British.

The quirks of both feline and owner are catered to, at a charge, and that includes the kinky and bizarre. Perkins’ trained aides have driven down to Wendy’s to buy a nightly hot-and-juicy hamburger for a four-footed guest. They also have looked the other way when an owner has included a pair of silk panties among the personal toys meant to keep her feline from being lonely.

The cats regard all the attention--personal romps with the staff, specially-prepared meals warmed to just the right temperature in the cattery microwave, lambskin pads with heating units for the elderly--with the normal haughty demeanor of the feline species. It is their due.

A few maverick cats shun the classy accommodations. Mitzi, for instance, spent the bulk of her stay in the plush Hawaiian Vacation Suite buried in the innards of a cushion despite the sun streaming in the southwest-facing windows and the subtropical greenery. A pair of Siamese made tatters of the tri-color drapes that once graced the French vacation suite. And Snowball, an adventurous type, escaped her luxury suite and perched atop the highest tier of cages, looking down her nose at humans and felines alike.

Perkins said that the serene scene presented to the customers arriving to deposit or retrieve their pets does not reflect the major share of her staff’s day. From early morning to dark, there are cages to clean, pets to bathe, laundry (six to eight big washer loads of bedding a day), meals to prepare on individual platters and in individual bowls, then dozens of dishes to wash and dry. After the chores are done, the dogs are exercised, the cats are played with and then the whole cycle begins again.

“The only ones on vacation here are the pets,” Perkins said. “You have to love animals to work here.”