A literal cat fight has broken out over the will of a Brooklyn woman who left $50,000 to her five felines, with demands for a “cat psychologist” and even a 911 call summoning police to the kitties’ new home.
Carroll Gardens cat lover Laura James left $10,000 each to her precious Cookie, Tuptim, Joey, Ash and Chance when she died of cancer on April 28, 2013, according to court documents filed in Brooklyn Surrogates Court.
The fight over the felines broke out on June 8, 2013 when Joy Cytryn, the executor of the cat trust who wanted the cats to be examined by a kitty psychologist, showed up at the Boerum Hill home of Josephine Gassner, 63, who had taken in three of James’ cats, according to court papers.
“Ms. Cytryn, along with two other people, were bodily attempting to barricade and enter Ms. Gassner’s home, Ms. Cytryn screaming threats, and calling the police to the scene,” states an affidavit filed by a Gassner pal.
Gassner – who also rejected the homes where Cytryn wanted to place the cats – filed a $6,930 claim in December 2013 demanding James’ estate pay for vet and cat care bills, later upping the total to $8,805.
“I am to receive reasonable compensation for boarding/foster care,” Gassner said in a bill she sent James’ sister. “Care of Joey is $100 per week, care of both Ash and Chance together is $150 per week.”
Gassner even accuses James’ sister, Ellen Maness, of not caring about the cats.
“During this entire period Ms. Maness consistently demonstrated no concern for the welfare of her dead sister’s cats,” Gassner wrote in a March 27, 2014 filing – noting that in an email last year Maness wrote, “How many effin cats does she even have?”
The cats Joey, Ash, and Chance were placed in a new home on September 1, 2013 with a “lovely mature woman” who doesn’t plan on claiming the $30,000 that could come with the trio, Gassner wrote in her most recent court filing.
Cookie and Tuptim had already been adopted by someone else.
The parties did not immediately return calls for comment.