Morbid Issue, but needs to be addressed

[Ally Cat's Mommy]

The thread about the cat being handed in to a shelter by a deceased person's family spurred me to have a good think about what would happen to my two furkids if anything happened to me.

Of course my husband would continue to care for them, but he travels with his job etc, and in the long-term I would dearly love them to be in an environment where they would be loved as they are with me, and also one with no other pets.

My Mum is too houseproud to tolerate pets "mess", and also does not understand why my cats are inside-only. My Mum-In-Law loves cats, and lets them sleep on the bed etc, and lost her 16 year old cat last year, but has a very open house, and would not keep them indoors-only.

I also worry about the compound strays I feed. If I leave - what will happen to them, especially Kissy, who has hardly any teeth, and never leaves my garden. I would have to seriously consider having her PTS, as I cannot afford to relocate 3 cats back to South Africa. (This will already represent the difference between a new car or a 2nd hand one when we go back - which is a choice I am happy to make)

Does anyone else worry about this, or am I just morbid?

[PayItForward]

I worry

[catlover4ever]

Well I can only speak for myself but I do not consider it morbid. I actually have a clause in my will that if anything were to happen to both my husband and I together, my mom would take any and all animals that I have. I spoke with her first of course because she has 8 cats of her own and I wanted to make sure she would be able to deal with another 5 or more. My husband almost fell out of his seat when I told our attorney that I wanted it in my will.

[cubby31682]

If something were to happen to my husband and I my mom would get Cubby. She knows why he is an indoor only cat, and she knows about all of his problems. She would be more than happy to take him if any thing were to happen. If my mother wasn't here the next best place would be my brothers. Although he will never get a cat (he's more of a dog person) he loves all animals, he knows my cat's history (which I think is very important.) He knows what food to buy him and he knows how to love him and give him all the attention Cubby needs or doesn't need. If those two couldn't take him for some reason, I would also trust my best friend. After all she helped bottle feed 5 baby kittens. She doesn't believe that an animal should be put to sleep because it's not wanted or the the person that the animal owns can't afford medical bills or what ever the case may be.

Katie

[IttyBittyKitty]

But I am sure Scott's sister Lisa would take the babies (she's mad about Randi) or Mum would ... she knows I would come back to haunt her if she didn't make sure my babies had a loving home!!

It's a very real worry though, you're not alone! I can't imagine how much Mums of hooman kids worry about stuff like this too!

[catnapper]

Well, I have Grant and the kids, so I'm sure they'd continue caring for the pets. I know each of the kids would step up and fight for the cats (and Nicki too) if both of us were gone.

My sister-in-laws love Pouncer - they've threatened to steal him away from us in the night. I thankfully have a big family of pet lovers... any of my family memebers would take one or all of my pets and love them forever. My mom has my grandmom's dog (a very spoiled and much loved terrier. )

[jazzcat]

I know my husband will take care of my babies but I do worry if something were to happen to both of us. My sister is a huge pet lover and usually has a small zoo at her house at all times. I'm sure between her and her daughter my guys would be taken in, hopefully. Guess I need to talk to them about that. They don't know Jazz and Scout well but I know they would fight over who gets Ripley and Disney.

[Cataholic]

I have thought about this, and have incorporated clauses into Wills to address this concern. The best bet is to have someone pre-arranged to step in to take care of the pets in the immediate situation. **Usually** wills are not read immediately after death. The probate system, at least here in the US, is not always the speediest system. So, I 'counsel' people to have their wants/desires clearly indicated amongst the family/friends. Also, in the US, anyhow, you can't 'will' anything, expecting it to be guarenteed. Someone can always reject a 'gift', which is what a bequest is considered. To circumvent that, I advise people to connect a monetary figure to the care of the pets. For instance, you could bequeath $1,000.00 to Aunt Milly, to help offset any expenses incurred as a result of caring for your pet. Or, bequest a sum to a clinic/rescue, so that the clinic/rescue will assist with the pet.

Most of the people in my immediate life know the feelings I have for the herd. I can only trust that one of my friends/family would step up, immediately.

[sirrahbed]

This HAS been on my mind lately, partly since I read that Gary (Catmandu) provided for his cats in his will, and as we prepared to go to Japan. All three of our kids are cat lovers, so I can reasonably hope they would go with the kids, but my hubby and I have discussed adding them to our will to make sure the cats have enough money to provide food, medical care, etc. I am quite sure this will be our last "batch" of cats as we are both close to 50. I would take on older cats but no more kittens. I don't think it is morbid, I think it is realistic and practical - hard to think about though

[Barbara]

We have the cats included in our wills -together with some money for their care. We travel a lot and it could happen that both of us didn't come back theoretically. The lawyer thought we were crazy- she didn't say anything but you could see it. I thought we're sensible

[sirrahved]

Don't worry, mom, I'd take any and all of your furbabies.

I don't worry about this, maybe because I am so young?

[kitten645]

Holy cow..I was just thinking of this this morning and trying to think how to word it to not sound morbid!
As a singleton, I have no significant other to deal with my boys should anything happen to me. My mom loves animals but can barely handle the two she has and I wouldn't trust my boys to her due to her advanced age and health. She also doesn't believe in the "indoor only" life. My sisters and friends don't share the love for cats as strongly as me. Other that my PT buddies, I don't know anyone who does. My brother would be the closest probably but he has a hard enough time dealing with his own life and staying out of trouble.
I think I saw something at the SF SPCA that they have a program where you donate money and they will re-home your pets if something happens to you. I really need to look into it because it is something I worry about alot.
Thanks for reading my mind!