Do you have a plan for what will happen to your pets if you pass away?
One of my dearest friends died suddenly in 2020. There was no warning, no anticipation, no time to make last minute plans. He went to the doctor on a Tuesday, came out with a clean bill of health, and dropped dead of a stroke two days later. Well technically, he was on life support for a few days after the event, but he was gone right away.
As you can imagine, we were all in shock to say the least.
To compound the already devastating event at hand, my friend was an avid cat rescuer. At the time of the stroke, he had about five feral, semi-feral or ex-feral (recovering feral?) cats in his house, each separated in their own little private spots while they were adjusting. He trapped them, one by one, using a humane trap of course, and then carrying the trap inside to safety, where the cat could then choose when to come out.
It was painstaking work, and he was completely focused on it. Now, the night of the stroke, guess what? All these cats were at his house, alone. In my state of shock, I went to the house, fed and watered them all, and did this for several days until we could find someone to come in twice a day to help.
Long, painful story short, the next couple months were truly heart wrenching. I was on a mission to try to find homes for these cats. This, on top of my very fresh grief. The cat sitter, the neighbors (who were also very helpful) and I all brainstormed and eventually found favorable solutions for these cats. But it was incredibly difficult, emotionally draining, and also expensive since we kept the help coming in (we all lived too far away to be able to come in twice a day every day).
But you can’t count on this! Not everyone is going to go to these lengths to help someone else’s pets. This is why it is so important for YOU to make a plan beforehand, so there are no questions, and your pets are not at the mercy of the situation. Take some time now, visit the planning for your pets section of the site, and get your pets’ futures squared away. ~ Sarah PS the cat pictured here was one of my friend’s NON-feral, super friendly cats, who passed away before my friend. He had a great life.
