If we love our animals, we have to plan

By Midge Raymond

Over the decade I was a shelter volunteer, I could always tell the stray cats from the orphaned ones as soon as I walked into the cat rooms. The strays weren’t thrilled to be in kennels, of course, but they were warm and fed, and life was a bit better than being out on the streets. On the other hand, the cats whose humans had passed away or had moved — to hospice or assisted living or out of the area — were totally shut down. They would crouch in the back of their kennels, eyes wide, likely wondering why, after years of living in a home, they were suddenly in a cage, surrounded by strangers, with nothing familiar to comfort them.

As much as we humans love our pets, anyone who’s worked or volunteered in a shelter knows that all too often, animals end up in shelters because people don’t plan ahead when it comes to what happens to their pets when they can no longer care for them. 

“It’s often an afterthought, but it is essential to your pet’s care,” says Natalie M. Wetenhall of Ashland’s Evergreen Law Group. “If you don’t provide a plan, the animal ends up going to a shelter when you pass away, and a lot of people don’t want that. And you don’t have any control over their future.”

There are myriad options for taking care of your pets after you’re gone or no longer able to, and the first step is to start talking about it and start making a plan. And for many cat rescues, this conversation begins as part of the adoption process — no organization wants cats to end up back in the situation that led to their rescues in the first place. 

“During the adoption counseling process, we ask a few questions, and they don’t have to do with the age of the adopter,” says Eliza Kauder, Friends of the Animals (FOTAS) bookkeeper and microchip clinic coordinator, who also fosters cats and kittens and works at FOTAS adoption events. “We just assume that life will throw us some curves over time, and some things we may not have control over — and we may have to make some hard decisions as well. So we always ask, ‘If you cannot take care of this animal at some point in your life, do you have a plan?’ That’s always the question: ‘Do you have a plan?’”

Kauder often finds herself explaining to adopters in their 70s that a new kitten could live for more than 20 years, or reminding 20-somethings that if, for example, the job of a lifetime comes up overseas or even across the country, they’ll need to plan for their cat’s care. 

“It doesn’t have to do with your demise,” she says. “Having a plan prior to your demise as is even more important.” FOTAS doesn’t adopt to college students, Kauder says, but she counsels younger adopters to be prepared to care for their cats through any hurdles they may face. “Let’s say it’s somebody who’s in their mid-20s, which is still a pretty unstable time in our lives. They’re probably renters, and they could have trouble, if they wanted to move, to find someplace that would allow pets. And the pet deposits for cats in particular have skyrocketed. So I have to remind them that this is going to reduce the number of choices they have as to where they want to live. So it’s about having a plan and just planting the idea of talking with their friends, talking with their relatives, to say, ‘If by chance I can’t take care of Fluffy for whatever reason, is that something that you would be willing to do?’” 

Another reality Kauder reminds adopters of is the financial responsibility. “As soon as you add an animal to your life, which is amazing, you’re adding complication,” she says. “They cost money, and it’s not just about food. It’s ongoing healthcare and things that you don’t expect, so that’s the other part about having a plan — putting money aside to handle that $600 bill from an emergency.”

While most younger pet guardians don’t have estate plans, it’s never too early to establish a pet trust to arrange for the care of your pets in case something happens to you. Unlike a conversation with family or friends, a pet trust is “legally binding and it ensures that (the pets) are cared for for the remainder of their lives,” says Wetenhall. Humans can work a pet trust into an existing estate plan, or they can set up a separate pet trust at any time. “Pet trusts are increasingly popular,” she says. “Ten percent of my estate planning clients want to plan for their pets. Some people don’t even realize you can do that.” 

Oregon law specifically provides for pet trusts, Wetenhall says, adding, “It can be as nuanced as you want it to be.” A pet trust can cover multiple pets and direct every aspect of pets’ care after their human passes away, including quality of food, choice of veterinarian, number of veterinary visits and type of care, the monitoring of health issues and medication, how the pets’ remains are handled when they die, and even “how much they are pampered,” Wetenhall says. “The only way to account for all that and have it be legally binding is to include your pet in your trust or to have a pet trust.” 

The trustee of a pet trust may also be the eventual caregiver, but the trustee may also simply be the administrator of the trust — that is, the person who disburses the funds and makes sure the pets are being cared for according to the terms of the trust. For example, Wetenhall says, “If you name your sister as trustee and she adores cats, she may be the caregiver as well. But if the trustee doesn’t like cats, they may hire a caregiver. If the funding is there and the owner owns their home outright, the cats can stay at home. If you don’t have to sell the home, you can have someone come in and live there and care for the cat full time. Or, someone could adopt the cat, and the trustee would oversee the cat’s care. You can carve it up any way you want.”

The number one priority, Wetenhall says, is “to choose as a trustee somebody you trust implicitly to do the job correctly.” The only negative, she says, is easily remedied: “You may overfund it, and then you have to make sure if your pet passes away and there’s money left over, that there is a secondary beneficiary named. That would all be addressed in the language of the trust or the greater estate planning.” 

A pet trust can cost from $500 to $1,500 to set up. “It’s not over-the-top expensive,” says Wetenhall, “and the peace of mind it gives is well worth it.” Click here to learn more about how pet trusts work. 

Kauder says she sees a lot of notices on social media regarding hungry, friendly stray cats that were likely abandoned when someone moved or passed away. “It’s a very uncomfortable conversation, regardless of age, but you’ve got to get past that discomfort for (the pets’) long-term benefit,” she says. “If we truly love our animals, we have to plan.” 

Ashland resident Midge Raymond is co-founder of Ashland Creek Press and author of the novels “Floreana” and “My Last Continent” and co-author of “Devils Island.” Email suggestions and questions for Catty Corner to her at [email protected].