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I have given this much thought and for some reason my husband and myself can't see our cats dying just because something happens to us. Is it really fair to them we ask ourselves. Is it moral? Is it what the cats would want if they could speak? And yet we can't find anyone or any org here that will take them even if paid. I really want them to stay in this house until the last one dies. They're happy here and have everything a cat could want. When the last one dies the kids can sell the property or do what they want with it. For some reason I dread bringing it up with our combined three grown children.
I'll never be so vain as to think someone else couldn't care for my animals as well (or even better) than I do. At my hospital we turned away a few people who wanted this. I'm sure they did still have it done, but it wasn't euthanasia, as the animals weren't suffering, and we wanted no part of it.
In reading through replies, everyone seems to have trusted friends and family members. I really don''t...that's the whole issue. How do you find a home (not a rescue group) willing to take in your pet when you don't know the people involved? Do you just start advertising on animal based sites and interviewing people? That honestly seems like my only option. Best Friends has an option were they'll take in your pets and try and get them adopted out, or keep them if they can't, but again JJ is not a cat that would do well without plenty of individual attention.
I have actually thought about this a lot. My husband and I have even talked about it. I've looked into setting up part of our death benefit into a trust for our pets care etc. However it gets very complicated. In truth - when you put into your will that you would like "x person" to care of your pets it is only a request and does not have to be honored.
I read about a horrible incident where a lady died and left her beloved pets to her sister to care for with a considerable amount of money. The sister dumped the animals in a shelter, bought a new car and treated herself to numerous expensive goodies on her dead sisters dime. She could do whatever she wanted with the pets and the money.
The safest thing to do is set up a trust fund that pays out a "salary" to the caretaker for their effort and pets yearly needs.- whatever you deem suitable. Then the caretaker can drawl from the trust if they need for extras. You also set up someone to oversee the trust that approves fund withdrawals to the caretaker and makes sure the standards of care that are put in place are being followed. You can basically set this up however you want but it does inherently cause hostility and imply that you don't trust who you asked to care for your pets. You would also want to make sure that the yearly sum increases as your pets age etc to cover growing expenses.
In the end I think we just have to have a certain level of trust in those that we have asked to care for our loved ones - furry or otherwise - that they do the right thing. My mom, for now, would care for my crew. She also inherits about 80% of mine and my husbands death benefit which is considerable to care for them as I do. When my mother ages to the point where this is no longer and option I really don't know what I will do as I have no real close family.
On a side note - I thought that I would mention that my grandmother has a little dog that belonged to her neighbor that passed away several years ago. His children were unable to take in and care for his four dogs and they were looking for good homes for them. My grandmother knew the gentlemen a bit and liked his toy poodle - Napoleon. He is very happy, though now he is an only dog. My grandmother loves him to death! It's worked out very well and both are happy though I'm sure it's not exactly what the man would have planned for his dogs.
My Mom's neighbor left all her money, and a house to a woman who promised to take care of her dog when she died of cancer. Within a week of her death, the house was sold, I don't know what happened to the dog.
I believe this is not unusual. I also know of a case where a small home on Long Island was left to a relative, a relative no less, with the understanding/agreement as per the Will, that the house was theirs after the pets died. I don't know how her children fit into this, perhaps they were allergic. I don't remember anymore. The relatives were allotted so much money each month to care for the pets. There were several, both dogs and cats. Shortly after the funeral, the animals "disappeared" and the family moved in. When asked, they claimed the cats and dogs got sick and died. All at one time? Like pigs can fly. Everyone suspected they either poisoned them or dumped them in a local shelter. NO ONE ever came to check to see if they were living up to their agreement and it was in the Will to care for the pets. The lawyer knew, but after she died, I don't think he/she was any longer involved.
This is another issue. Who makes sure they're living up to caring for the animals? What happens if they don't? Who makes sure the animals are taken to the vet if sick and not simply euthanized to get rid of them faster?
The family didn't like the area so sold the house in less than a year. The woman's biological children we were told, got nothing of the estate. The pets, beloved by their original deceased owner, were most surely dead shortly after she herself passed away.
Someone can pop up and say, "Oh they probably found them homes. Don't assume anything." Well to those people I say, *THAT WAS NOT THE DEAL*. They were to remain in that home until they died. They were all ages, not cute puppies and kittens. And anyone who would be so dishonest would be least likely to be the type to search out a no-kill shelter.
Another one? A widow here got involved in a similar deal with one of her grown kids. The grown child and her husband moved into the house and from what I was told was taking care of the cats... but it wasn't long before she, in her 60s, died of a heart attack. The house reverted to her sisters and brothers, not the husband, as per the Will. He was willing to honor his wife's agreement with her deceased mother and care for the cats for the rest of their lives in that house. He would then retire to FL which was their dream before his wife died. But the others were too greedy and selfish. He was forced out and the cats were taken to a local shelter. The house was sold.
Multiply stories like this for every town, every city and state. Someone makes a promise, don't or can't keep it and the cats or whatever pets are involved end up in a shelter and the money/estate meant for them goes elsewhere.
Does anyone add in their Wills what happens if the person who is supposed to care for them dies? Who steps in then and who makes sure the deceased person's wishes are kept? Who in fact goes to the homes and checks to make sure the caretakers are really taking care of the pets? What proof does the caretaker have to have to prove the animals were cared for by a vet if sick and they died, when they do, was of natural causes?
Believe me, I get a tension headache when I think about it.
I'll never be so vain as to think someone else couldn't care for my animals as well (or even better) than I do. At my hospital we turned away a few people who wanted this. I'm sure they did still have it done, but it wasn't euthanasia, as the animals weren't suffering, and we wanted no part of it.
In reading through replies, everyone seems to have trusted friends and family members. I really don''t...that's the whole issue.
We don't either. Most family, what's left to them, don't live near us and we're not close. And sadly, most are not into pets on my husband's side. Those few who are, already have as many as they want. That's another reason why I would rather the cats stay in this house until they die of old age. If someone took them in they would be unwanted unloved burdens.
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How do you find a home (not a rescue group) willing to take in your pet when you don't know the people involved? Do you just start advertising on animal based sites and interviewing people? That honestly seems like my only option.
But you would be taking one heck of a chance with a total stranger.
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Best Friends has an option were they'll take in your pets and try and get them adopted out, or keep them if they can't, but again JJ is not a cat that would do well without plenty of individual attention.
That sounds like a good option. At least they wont end up in a kill-shelter where up to 80% of all cats are euthanized.
I would still prefer mine stayed here until they died. There are some real horror stories online about what happened to cats and dogs sadists adopted from shelters.
This organization has a program that cares for your cats after your death.
You could look into it further to see how it works, and if there are, or can be, similar programs where you live. Where do you live?
I recently bought a mobile home, because renting in the Denver area appears to be such a scam, and I didn't feel smart enough to "play".
Also, I was chaffing at the thought of a stranger telling me how many animals I could have, AND that they had to be vaccinated yearly, (a rental agency in Golden)
So, "I took my ball and went home"
My sister, the cat person, gets my "home" if I die, if my cats, (and hers of course) are also living there.
I intend to put money aside every month for food and vet bills, have the utilities paid ahead, etc.
I always leave lots of Wysong Epigen dry food out when I leave, along with lots of bowls of purified water when I go out, not as many when I go to sleep, since I live alone.
I text my cat crazy best friend in San Francisco every morning, to say "hi" and let her know I'm o.k. if I miss a morning she would try to get in touch with me, if no answer by 9 p.m. she calls 3 of my family members and someone would/should come check on the cats.
The cats should never need to be moved (at least for years to come) there are instructions posted on the doors for rescue workers etc. about who they should contact to care for the cats and that the cats are not to be taken to a shelter, if the structure is safe, they are to left in the home ...
That's my quick solution, it needs to be refined as I settle in and learn more.
This organization has a program that cares for your cats after your death.
You could look into it further to see how it works, and if there are, or can be, similar programs where you live. Where do you live?
I'm in New Jersey. Thanks for the link- I like the look of the site and e-mailed them to ask for more information. I like that they would both care for the cats and look for new homes, and that they have experience with special needs. I'd be willing to pay more for someone to come get them and transport them out to CO.
I explained a bit about JJ so they'd have an idea of what they'd be getting themselves into. I find one of my main issues with places like this though is that JJ can't be vaccinated, and most places end the conversation right at that. Maybe this place will be the winner though.
This organization has a program that cares for your cats after your death.
After that horror at Tiger Ranch where over 600 cats were taken in and died due to neglect, disease and starvation, and the owner not even punished, I'm paranoid about my cats going somewhere sight-unseen. All these places need to be checked out in person before you sign on the dotted line and your kitties get shipped off.
After that horror at Tiger Ranch where over 600 cats were taken in and died due to neglect, disease and starvation, and the owner not even punished, I'm paranoid about my cats going somewhere sight-unseen. All these places need to be checked out in person before you sign on the dotted line and your kitties get shipped off.
Oh, definitely. You also need to make sure the owners have a plan in the event of THEIR death.
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Wills and caretakers
Like pigs can fly. Everyone suspected they either poisoned them or dumped them in a local shelter. NO ONE ever came to check to see if they were living up to their agreement and it was in the Will to care for the pets. The lawyer knew, but after she died, I don't think he/she was any longer involved. 
I find one of my main issues with places like this though is that JJ can't be vaccinated, and most places end the conversation right at that. Maybe this place will be the winner though. 
