what happen to your cat if u die?

Introduction:
Colleen is a volunteer at the Seattle Animal Shelter, and has been involved in animal care for more than 20 years, including taking care of a farm and all its animals while the owners were away for several months. She also is the creator of Peaceable Pets, a petcalming tape/CD in which she actually talks to the animals in a calm, soothing voice.


Older cats like Precious are displaced, taken to shelters, if their caretakers unexpectedly die, unless owners make arrangements for their care.
(Photo provided by Colleen)
The Older Ones are Heartbreaking
One of the real heartbreakers I experience as a volunteer at the Seattle Animal Shelter is seeing older pets, cats and dogs, ten years and more, whose owners have died - usually unexpectedly. The older cats with whom I work who are suddenly without their attached humans become despondent and in some cases stop eating and drinking water because they are so sad, disoriented and of course miserable in the frightening environment of a shelter. Whenever we have such bereft cats in cages, we check them for dehydration regularly so they can be treated medically or put in a foster home if they become too depressed.

Never Enough Homes
Some wonderful people come in looking for older animals to whom they can give comfort and love for the remaining years they have left. But there are not enough of those kind folks, unfortunately. I always wish these cat owners had made arrangements for their cherished pets when they had the opportunity. It would prevent the suffering an animal endures in shelter situations. Worse, Seattle has a no kill police for healthy pets, but most shelters do not. They only keep animals for a certain period of time before they're put down. Covering the Bases
I have made arrangements in my will for my pets, so they don't end up in a shelter if anything should happen to me - and I'm in the best of health! Each of my pets goes to an individual whom I know and trust will care for the dog or cat properly.

Although it would be ideal to have all three animals go to the same home, that would be a difficult situation to find realistically. Further, each pet is so fraught with individual idiosyncrasies that he or she will need a specific type of care or attention.

I've actually "trained" one person how to care for my 3 year-old Pomeranian, Oscar, so he will be treated in a way best suited for him. Being a rescued dog, his attitudes and aptitudes are different from a dog like my other one year-old Pomeranian, Missy, who has been hand raised before coming into my life. They can both be very well behaved, but need to be approached differently.

Likewise, my 13 year-old cat Cagney was brutalized as a young kitten (children set off firecrackers next to the mother cat while her kittens' eyes were still closed, for example), so it has taken virtually years to get her socialized to be an affectionate, loving cat who adores being held and petted now. So approaching her requires some knowledge - of her personality, problems and methods of continuing her sense of security.