"One of It's Kind" After Care For Your Cat
Those of us who think of our companion animals as family members are becoming aware of the fact that part of our responsibility to these dependent creatures is to make sure that their care and comfort continue uninterrupted should we become incapable of caring for them ourselves. One way to plan for that contingency is to enroll in our Lifetime Care Program.
Cats Cradle Lifetime Care Program
If anything would happen to you, the fate of your cat would be uncertain. Why? Only about 1 out of 3 cats that lose their guardian find new homes — and of those, most are kittens or young cats under 5 years of age.
If you have someone to take your cats, you're fortunate — but even that solution is fragile. Many times well-meaning individuals adopt the pets of friends or relatives who pass away. After a short time, however, they take them to a shelter. Their intentions were good, but their life style didn't allow them to follow through — their spouse or child is allergic — their own pets are jealous — they travel too much, etc. There simply is no reliable safety net to protect cats that lose their guardians due to death or serious illness.
If you do nothing at all to plan for your cats' care after you are too old or ill to care for them, the responsibility typically falls on a relative or friend. Their options are:
Keep the cats themselves. This is a good option — if they are cat lovers and if they'll do it. If this is what you're assuming will happen, make sure you discuss it with them to confirm they are both willing and able to carry out your wishes.
Try to adopt out the cats directly. This too is a good option — if the cats are adoptable and if they're willing to take on the time and work involved in placing them in caring homes.
Take the cats to an animal control shelter. If the cats are over 5 years old, they will probably be put down — most shelters have many more cats coming in than they can adopt out. The older the cat, the more difficult to adopt and so the less likely they will give it cage space in the shelter.
Take the cats to a no-kill shelter. If they accept the cats, they will not be put down — but may well live the rest of their lives confined in cages. And, since their capacity is limited too, they are frequently full and closed to new admissions entirely.
Cat Retirement Homes
If instead of leaving the fate of your companion cat to your friends and relatives, you plan their future as part of your estate plan — just as you would for minor children — there's another option — placement in a cat retirement home.
Our Cat Retirement Home/Resort (Cats Cradle) will give you the peace of mind knowing your beloved friend will be well taken care of for the rest of their natural lives in a stimulating, caring environment.
Our Retirement home is intended for elderly cats, over the age of 10, whose chances of finding a new home are miniscule through conventional adoption programs.
We will send you periodic videos/photos of your beloved cat showing how they are adapting to life here at Cats Cradle. When they pass on we will send you a statement from our Vet and you can authorize the disposition of their remains. Auto payments should be stopped at this point.
What Is The Cost?
Your cost of the Lifetime Care Program will be based on the health and life expectancy of your cat. The national accepted life expectancy of a cat is 15 years.
To assure the best care for the duration of your cat’s life includes a $300 set up fee and a continuing fee of $150 per month. Money received beyond the cost of food and supplies, facility maintenance, and administration will go into a fund for future medical care.
How is this arrived at?
The published yearly average to care for a cat (on an annualized basis over the life of the cat) is $1764 yr or $147/mo. (with the bulk of the costs occurring when the cat is past 10 years of age) Due to the fact we are a non-profit and we receive a discount on food, medical care and supplies we are able to more operate more economically.
Funding Options
Funding the cost of our Lifetime Care program can be managed in different ways.
Monthly Payments. Set up an automatic payment arrangement with PayPal or another financial institution. The monthly fee of $150 will be sent to our Cats Cradle Foundation bank account each month (showing you as the Payee). Or, you can pay a lump sum of ($1500 per remaining years) based upon the expected life span of 15 years (no refund will be made in the event of an unexpected early death). An annual plan is also available to accommodate yearly payments.
Life Insurance. You may set up a life insurance policy to pay the cost. If you have a paid-up life insurance policy that is no longer needed for the care of a friend or relative, you could assign the policy to the organization making them the owner and beneficiary of the proceeds. This would require the approval and cooperation of the organization.
Will Bequest. You can use your will to direct the transfer of the cats to the organization together with the money required to fund their care. Here is a sample phrase: "I give $________ to the Cats Cradle Foundation, LLC to provide life care for my cat, [name], if she/he is alive when I die."
Arrangements on payment must arranged prior surrendering your cat to Cats Cradle.
Once you've enrolled your cat in a program at Cats Cradle, be sure to let your relatives, neighbors and friends know of your plans. Simply putting the plan in your will is not sufficient — wills are often not read until days or weeks after death — and by then, your cats may have been disposed of in a manner other than you had intended.