At the risk of sounding like a scrooge, I remember reading one of the
initial reports of the cat being found.  And I really don't feel the
cat was all that important to the family (in general--perhaps the
children felt differently).

Obviously the cat had disappeared before.  If the cat were that
important to them, they'd take greater care about letting her out.

Had the story not made the news, I would bet they would have gladly
left the cat in France rather than suffer the expense of bringing her
back.  I don't think they'd have thought twice about that, nor would
they have thought twice about just getting a new one from the humane
society.

The only people who really cared were those who found her, and those
who brought her back (not so much the airline, itself, as it was in it
for the publicity, but the flight attendants who accompanied the cat).