Providing For Your Cats in Your Will

Over the years my husband and I have rescued many cats, some we found adopters for others we paid for their vaccines and spay or neuter and released them to a colony. Then there are the FIV cats and the older cats that nobody wanted that we provide a home for. We share our home and our life with animals that depend on us but what happens to the cats if we die?

Many people will provide for their children and church but omit long term care of their pets. Pet owners assume that their loved ones will take in their cats but unless there is a provision in their will chances are family members will change their minds and take that cat to a shelter.

If you died tomorrow what would happen to your cat?

Many cats become strays when their people die. Nobody wants them.

Have you made arrangements with a family member to take your pet? If so did you make it in writing and have their signature on file with your will? It is no guarantee that they will care for your pet but it is a contract. You can go one step further and provide for your pet in a trust.

Who will love and care for your cat when you die?

I have friends who have a provision in their will that states that specific people will reside in their home to take care of their cats. Generally, a contract is drawn up by an attorney and this document is motorized by the person who is to inherit the house and the taking care of the cat.

A cat we took after a tornado, Cats people never found.

Presently I have a mature cat in my home that I agreed to care for when my neighbor passed away. My neighbor had a trust set up and monthly I am compensated for his care. Also, money was provided for his medical care and all I need to do is make the appointment at the veterinarian and all of the cat needs is provided at no charge.

When a pet owner adds a provision in their will for their animals, it shows that they love the animal and are responsible.

Week old kittens rescued when their person passed away,
no provision as to who would care for them. 

One cannot assume that your beloved cat will be adopted by your family or friends. Even if they said yes they would take your pets, a verbal contract cannot be enforced after you die.

This is Leo, his people died and he was left in the house.  2-weeks of meowing neighbor left him out, He was lost, confused and suffering from the death of his person.
We rescued him

Who will care for your cats if you die tomorrow? Have you made provisions in your will for your cats?

Abandoned Cat Gets Forever Home

A handsome tuxedo cat was abandoned. His person left him in our woods nine months ago. The cat was put out in a box that my husband thought was trash.

Original photo of Cat Abandoned 

My husband observed a man parking this car at the end of the street then walking down the hill with a cardboard box. The man returned without the box and my husband yelled at him, thinking he had just dumped trash.



Trash was not dumped in our woods, nope that man abandoned an adult tuxedo cute that was terrified by his new surroundings. Cats that are abandoned do not respond well to strangers. So when my husband tried to coax the cat to come to him The cat was fearful and ran when my husband approached him.



Immediately we let our neighbors know what the cat looked like and that it was abandoned. It is a nice looking cat and a few of my neighbors said that the would take it in. But this abandoned cat was so afraid of people that nobody could get close to him.



Trapping was not something we considered because the cat was stressed out, we wanted the cat to come to us when it was ready. That did not mean that we did not leave our garages open, provide the cat with warm bed food and water. The cat would enter our garages but ran when people tried to befriend him.



I always said that a cat will choose who he wants to be with. My friend that told me that she loved this cat and that she had been socializing the cat for the last 8 months. She was trying to get the cat to trust humans again and it worked. This cat got a second chance at having a forever home.



This stray cat will sit on the woman’s porch every morning at 5 AM to eat at her feeding station. Then he will rub on her legs and she is allowed to sit close to him and pet him. She loves this tuxedo cat and he loves her.




We are happy that the cat that was abandoned in the wood now has a forever home with an adopter that loves cats. It does not happen all the time but when it does it is always nice to know that an abandoned cat gets a second chance.