‘The cats left behind were heartbroken’ – Why Ana included her pets in her will
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While Ana was growing up, her father was always bringing home cats from the retirement home where he worked. Their owners had died, the cats were elderly, and no family members wanted to take them.
“We had so many cats come through our family home. It was just assumed the families and adult children would take them, but they never did,” Ana says.
Seeing this happen time and again shaped how Ana approached her own future planning. Including her cats in her will was a priority.
Ana wanted to make things clear for her pets
For Ana, the key takeaway was how important it is to be explicit.
“People need to be really explicit with what they want to happen, because you might think someone will look after them, but it’s not always the way. Animal rescues can’t take every single cat,” she says.
“These cats were broken hearted and they really didn’t live for very long after they came to us. It made me very sad that these people had pets they loved, but they ended up nowhere. So I wanted to be clear what would happen to my cats if something happened to me. I didn’t want mine going back to a rescue.”
Plan for your pets
Public Trust is raising greater awareness about planning for our pets after we pass away. In New Zealand, pets are treated as property under the law. That means you cannot leave money or assets directly to your pet. But you can leave your pet to someone you trust in your will, along with funds to support their care*, and set out how you’d like them looked after in a statement of wishes.
A little planning now can help ensure your pet is looked after in the way you would want, giving you peace of mind for their future.
Planning for Hannah and Marmite’s care
Ana’s two cats, Hannah and Marmite, both have traits that could make them difficult to rehome.
Hannah is older and doesn’t like being picked up. She had already been returned once to the rescue as a kitten as she wasn’t a lap cat. Marmite is black, sometimes an unpopular colour due to the ‘bad luck’ associated, and he’s half blind. This would make both cats challenging to rehome, Ana says.
“They’re my babies, they’ve been through many stages of my life with me. I included Hannah and Marmite in my will because I care about what happens to them when I’m no longer around. It was important for me to prepare, because life happens and you need to be prepared for the unexpected,” she says.
“This Wills Week, I'm encouraging others to include their pets in their will because they are part of the family and you should look after them, even if you're not around anymore.”
*This type of gift is not legally binding. That means the caregiver is not obligated to use the funds for pet-related expenses.