Should You Provide for Your Cats in Your Will?
It depends on how you feel about them
Years ago, I had a friend who changed her will in order to leave her cat to me, plus $10,000 to cover cat care costs.
She did this even though she had a husband and an adult son.
Deb believed I’d take better care of Fluffy than her family would — and she was probably right.
As it turns out, she outlived Fluffy so that part of the will became moot.
But when I told a married couple I know who had seven cats about what Deb had done? They changed their wills to provide that if they died together, their money would go to me via a trust arrangement according to which I was to spend their money taking care of their cats.
I would be expected to hire just the right cat-lover to live in their house rent-free in exchange for caring for their “cat family”, so that the cats wouldn’t be separated and thrown out of their home.
I’d supervise the cat caretaker, pay the bills, and hire new cat caretakers as needed. When their last cat finally crossed the rainbow bridge, the house would be sold and the proceeds — and whatever was left of the estate — would be donated to cat-related charities.
