Seven cats left with $300,000 inheritance after owner died are up for adoption

The seven Persian cats were left with about $300,000 in inheritance and lived in their late owner's $2.5million mansion for six months.

It could be called The Great Catsby.

Seven Persian cats whose late owner left them in her mansion – with a six-figure inheritance – are up for adoption.

Nancy Sauer celebrated her 84th birthday in November with a friend, her nurse and her five-year-old purebreds Cleopatra, Goldfinger, Leo, Midnight, Napoleon, Snowball and Squeaky. Three days later, Sauer died.

For nearly six months, Sauer’s fur babies continued to live alone in her $2.5million mansion in Tampa, Florida, because she was afraid that moving or separated them would cause them distress.

‘She loved them so much,’ Alban told the Tampa Bay Times last week.

‘The deal is that the house was not to be sold until the last cat passed.’

Someone would check on the felines a few times daily, but a Hillsborough County judge then decided that it was best to find the Persians new homes.

‘Cats shouldn’t be left by themselves in a big house,’ Humane Society of Tampa Bay executive director Sherry Silk told the newspaper. ‘I am going to personally make sure that we can keep as many together as we can and that they go to the perfect house.’

The Humane Society has roughly $300,000 that Sauer willed to cover care for her Persians for the remainder of their lives.

‘If you adopt, she left money to fund all the vet care, all the grooming, all the food, whatever these cats need,’ Silk told WFLA.

‘We’re going to take care of them because of Nancy’s request, which is great.’

As of Wednesday, the Humane Society had already received and was reviewing about 100 applications. The white Persian, Snowball, has already been confirmed for adoption.

Their new owners will be able to bring receipts for reimbursement to the Humane Society.

‘She’s certainly a cat lady,’ Silk said of Sauer. ‘I guess she’s had cats all of her life. They were her four-legged family.’

Silk said the cat lady left a good example for other pet owners, even if they are not as wealthy.

‘Just make some provision for your animals,’ Sauer said, ‘So that when you do die that a friend or relative or someone is going to take care of them so they don’t end up homeless.’

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.