Woman Fined After Complaints About Noisy Cat on Train

A French woman was fined the equivalent of almost $130 after her cat's persistent meowing on a high-speed train sparked complaints from fellow passengers. Camille, who was traveling from Brittany to Paris with her cat Monet and her boyfriend Pierre, says Monet "meowed a bit" at the start of the journey, but she was in a carrier and had her own ticket, which cost $8, the Times of London reports. She says it's "a shame" that SNCF, France's state-owned rail operator, "allows itself to fine people who are simply traveling with their animals and who are respecting all the rules."

SNCF said it wasn't the cat's vocalizing itself that led to the fine but the resulting "acute tensions" after several passengers complained. Staff say they asked Camille to move to a less populated coach, but she declined. According to SNCF, that "simple and common-sense solution" would have spared everyone—including Monet—a headache. Reactions in France have been mixed, with some applauding SNCF's commitment to a peaceful ride and others blasting the rail operator for being overzealous. Many of SNCF's critics noted that parents are rarely fined for bringing noisy children on trains, the Times reports.