Yes, I can believe Sammy is sixteen. Still, he's a healthy, big, beautiful sixteen. It's too bad that fate does not give us all the same life clocks, so he could have stayed with his owner for his entire life. But someone has to sorrow. Someone is always left behind. Sammy had a brother who just passed on a few months ago. They showed up as kittens, were fed at the back door, and ultimately were taken to the vet and neutered so many years ago. They came and went as they chose.
His owner is now in a nursing home, and both she and he were lucky to have family that feel that Sammy, and his owner's love for him, are important and vital. I'm told that he was very affectionate with his owner, and even sat on the lap of her son in the weeks while he was trying to convince Sammy to get into a crate to come and live with us. So he likely would be a very sweet cat in a quiet home. He was indoor-outdoor before, but probably should be kept inside now that he is a senior gentleman.
He let me, a stranger, take him from the crate in a towel, and he hasn't offered to swat. He was at the front of the cage when I came in tonight to tuck everyone in, and didn't go back to his bed until I actually had the cage door open.
I think he'll be fine. But he deserves a home. He probably could fit in here in the cat room with the long-termers. But he really deserves better than that.
Thank you all for the comments on the previous post. I thought I was a bit crazy when I agreed to take Sam, but reading the comments I realize most people feel the same. We want to know our pets will be cared for if something happens to us.
9 comments:
Could you write a post on how to make sure your pets are cared for if you pass away unexpectedly? I'd be interested in hearing your ideas.
Here's my thoughts on the matter Joanna.
First of all, be aware that the will may not be read immediately. Some cases, the will is not read until after the funeral services. So whatever you have in there concerning your pets needs to be repeated and shared with those you know and trust- same thing with your burial arrangements, if you have specific desires. Like I want to be cremated, not buried, and know where I want my ashes to go. It's a little weird, but it's something I've thought about and believe in.
Have someone who lives nearby who is willing to take responsibility for them. Someone who upon hearing of your passing will go collect the pets and take care of them. Give them a house key. Make sure any petsitters or Boarding facility also know your wishes.
Options include:
Designate a shelter for them to go to with an endowment or other fund to take care of them for the rest of their lives. There *are* a few no kill shelters set up for this purpose expressly, but you need to make arrangements with this shelter before your death, so they know to expect your pets and the funds.
Designate someone to be their caretaker. My spouse and I have a list of prospective caretakers. These people will inherit a share of the estate for taking care of whichever pets they take. We anticipate that not all caretakers will definitately be able to take one of or all of our pets when the time comes, and have tried to account for that. We also expect to always be a multipet household. While I'm happy with 4 cats and one dog, not everyone else is. This can be done by giving lump sum with the pet or a lump sum after the pet's natural demise. The latter means that the executor of the will or another trustee of the estate will have to keep tabs on the pet as it ages, and ensures that they don't just take the money and then dump the pet.
I know if I didn't do anything for them, my mother or certain other relations would immediately take my pets to the shelter and dump them, and not care if it was a no-kill shelter or not. This is intolerable to me.
I hope whomever takes Sammy can figure out a way to take him for visits to the nursing home where his former owner is. I know some pets can be labelled "therapy pets," and I think visits from Sammy would brighten both of their days.
Now my heart aches for Sammy, with those sad eyes. *sigh*
I like georg's idea of Sammy's new family, whomever they will be, taking Sammy to visit his elderly, former owner. That sounds wonderful.
I hope you're able to find Sammy a home--I'm glad he's made it into good hands.
Slightly off topic, but--where do you find cat beds like the one he's curled up in? I'm looking for something like that for my cat, but the only ones I've seen so far have been kind of flimsy.
They are called Siesta Bowls and they are wonderful
http://www.petsupplies.com/itemdy00.asp?T1=020486+BLU&Cat=
You may need to drag your mouse over the end of the link for it to show in comments. Or go to www.petsupplies.com and click on cats. Get the plush, not the white fleece. They shouldn't cost more than $13. They are very washable. Mine get washed frequently.
Thanks, Georg. Serendipitously, a friend who works with the Humane Society contacted me yesterday about something,and I posed the question to him, too. He said it's one of his specialties, so I'm in good shape with advice from both of you.
We have a pet power of attonery set up. It's nothing legal, it's just what I put onto paper: whom we want to care for our pets in the event of our deaths. I gave a copy to the vet, the pet sitter, and to the couple we chose to care for The Beasts.
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