Cats can’t! Not with cats! yelled the stunned conductor in Bulgakov’s novel. It was (or wasn’t it?) a long time ago, but nothing seems to have changed since then. Mikhail Galin, the owner of a cat named Viktor, once heard almost the same words from Aeroflot employees.
“Bro not luggage”
Recall that in 2019, Mikhail, a resident of Vladivostok, returning from Moscow to his hometown, unexpectedly encountered difficulties. His cat did not pass the weight control when checking in for the flight. Aeroflot, as it turned out, only likes cats that weigh no more than 8 kilograms. And Victor was two kilos fatter. Mikhail said: “Okay” – and applied a military trick: before boarding, he presented another cat, and smuggled Victor into the cabin. Well, in fact, he could not hand over a friend in luggage – fly 8 hours!
Aeroflot, having discovered the substitution, punished the recalcitrant passenger, depriving him of all bonuses and accumulated miles. This story gained a wide response: stories were filmed about the plump cat and its owner, opinions were expressed, and articles were published. Outraged Internet users wrote: “Bro is not luggage!”. And what happened next? How does he live today – this fluffy “violator” who dared to gain two “extra” kilograms?
Christmas surprise – obedient and well-mannered
Viktor has been living with Mikhail for 8 years. He received it for Christmas, as a gift from friends, as a small kitten, and immediately fell in love with the affectionate fluffy. Since then, Mikhail and Victor have almost never parted – only if Mikhail goes on business trips, in these cases he leaves the cat in “safe hands”. After that incident with Aeroflot, Mikhail gave more than one interview in which he said that his pet is a very well-mannered and unspoiled cat. According to him, Victor understands everything, and if you say “no”, he remembers it the first time.
Cat owners are well aware that these four-legged cats are often active at night. But Victor is not like that: he never interferes with the owner’s sleep. Only in the morning, when Mikhail begins to wake up, does he come to him to purr and cuddle.
“He’s not fat, he’s cute!”
Mikhail objects when Victor is called “fat”. According to his owner, the cat simply has a “wide bone”: “At one time he was on a strict diet, but lost only three hundred grams. And now his weight is stable – eight and a half kilograms. In general, I am not a supporter of any diets for animals. Therefore, let Victor be at the weight in which he is comfortable.
World star
After the incident with Aeroflot, Mikhail had no time to sleep: he was pestered with questions around the clock. During the day, representatives of the Russian media wrote and called him, in the evening and at night the “change” of European and American journalists began. Everyone asked for online communication, asked a lot of questions, waited for detailed comments … This went on for at least a week, Mikhail had to cancel all cases for this time, he worked as a “translator from a cat”.
Some asked if the owner of the cat regrets that he made his story public? After all, no one would have known about the substitution of the cat if Mikhail himself had not told the whole world about it. And no one would deprive him of 400 thousand miles (and this is a lot!) And would not exclude him from the Aeroflot bonus program. Isn’t the price of popularity too high, the price of hype?
Cat of the Year
As it turned out later – no, not at all high. Victor and his master were the winners. The Citymobil company, for example, provided Mikhail with excellent compensation for the lost miles: they promised to carry him for free until he got 400,000 miles (which is about 650,000 kilometers!). And – along with the cat. Now Mikhail is a platinum Citymobil passenger.
But that was only the beginning. Victor and his owner were literally flooded with interesting and profitable offers. From a network of pet stores – 3000 bonuses. From the online cinema – access to any films. From the T-shirt printing service – 10 items plus a portrait of Victor on the new collection. Free English lessons. Free fitness workouts. Bonuses from Forex brokers. Bank cards for travel with bonuses. Free delivery of parcels from Sdek. Top insurance, entertainment, and that’s not to mention the huge number of “goodies” sent to Victor!
And another 10-kilogram friend of Mikhail received the title “Cat of the Year”. The award was presented to him at the annual cat show in Moscow. Victor and the owner went on a real tour – why refuse good offers! Add to that the unofficial title of “animal rights activist” given to Victor.
“Even one little cat can make a big difference”
So Mikhail Galin wrote in his account after it became known that the scandal with Viktor prompted other airlines to revise the rules for transporting animals. Now their rules allow pets weighing up to 10 kilograms to be taken into the salon – instead of the previous eight. This can be called a real victory. After all, now passengers will not be forced to check in their furry friends traveling with them. By the way, Victor also flew to the cat show in Moscow by plane – on a ticket from S7 Airlines. This time he did not have to break anything: the company announced changes to the rules of transportation, and it so happened that Victor the cat became the first four-legged passenger to try out the new rules.
