Woman Leaves Her Estate to Feral Cats of Maine and They Aren’t Getting Most of It

DIXFIELD, Maine — A Maine town and a group of cat caretakers are suing estate trustees in a long-running dispute over a woman’s wishes that her entire life savings go to care for abandoned cats.

Barbara Thorpe died back in 2002 and left most of her $200,000 estate to give food, shelter and veterinary care to the stray cats who roam free in Dixfield. The Sun Journal is reporting that only a few thousand dollars have been given for the cats’ care. Lawyers have taken in upwards of $16,000, and the estate’s trustees have received over $22,000.

Dixfield and five women who care for the town’s strays sued the trustees last week. The suit says the trustees excessively billed fees to the trust and have failed to carry out Thorpe’s wishes.

The attorney for the trustees says they “vehemently deny any wrongdoing.”

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