I’m a cat lady. I only have one cat though so I don’t think the “crazy cat lady” label applies to me – yet. I’ve had my cat for over six years and like most pets, she’s become a fixture in my life. She’s there to welcome me home, she chirps at me when the alarm goes off in the mornings and she cuddles in my lap while I try to write out blog posts.
I don’t like to think about what it would be like to not have her around. I always think that her being gone will be due to natural reasons. But what if someone were to offer me a whole lot of money for her? Then what? I’d like to think I’d say no to the money, but I can’t honestly answer that.
Michael and Fran Perceval from Melbourne, Australia were recently faced with an offer for their cat. They decided to take it.
The Percevals had their house up for auction and the property was passed in at $2,060,000. Their realtor, Glen Coutinho, set off to close the deal and it was then that one of the bidders made an interesting proposal.
Would you include your cat in a house sale if it meant getting more money? One family did. Click To TweetIt turns out the prospective buyers’ daughter fell in love with Tiffany, the family cat. The cat was a fixture on the couch while the house was up for sale and most people who walked through the house saw the cat while on tour. The particular bidder raised their bid to $2.2 million dollars. That’s right, they added an additional $140,000 for the inclusion of Tiffany the cat. The Percevals agreed to the terms of the sale.
Sam, the Percevals 19-year-old son, was none too pleased with the deal. He brought Tiffany home four years ago after finding her at a pet store. She had been the last of her litter and Sam had felt sorry for her.
The Percevals offered Sam a choice, $20,000 or Tiffany. He’s planning on travelling next year and his parents figure he could use the money. There’s no update on whether Sam accepted the offer from his parents.
As for how the Percevals themselves, they said that “It is quite difficult to part with her.”
The cynic in me has to wonder about how the Percevals’ really felt about their cat. They already had an offer of more than $2 million on the house so it wasn’t as if the money they got for Tiffany was going to greatly enrich their lives.
Clearly, Tiffany’s new owners are enthusiastic about having her join their family. But, they aren’t the family she’s known for the last four years. I’m sure it won’t be an easy transition for the cat watching her family leave and having new people move in.
As for me, could I honestly say that I would turn that much money down if ever given the opportunity? No, I can’t. I’d like to think that I’d say no. I believe that you have an obligation to the animal you bring home. It was your decision to make that animal apart of the family. Not everything can have a price tag on it.