How a Cat in Dixfield, Maine Got Rich : Planet Money : NPR

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The stray cat is one of 11 cats owned by Brenda Jarvis, the lead cat lady in Dixfield, Maine.

Willa Rubin/NPR

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Willa Rubin/NPR

The stray cat is one of 11 cats owned by Brenda Jarvis, the lead cat lady in Dixfield, Maine.

Willa Rubin/NPR

More than 20 years ago, something extraordinary happened in the small town of Dixfield, Maine. A woman named Barbara Thorpe left nearly all her money ($200,000) to her hometown cats. After Barbara died in 2002, the cats suddenly became very wealthy. That’s when all the trouble began.

Brenda Jarvis, who owns 11 cats, three of which she feeds, is scaling back — at the height of her career she cared for dozens of strays around town.

Jeff Guo/NPR

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Jeff Guo/NPR

Brenda Jarvis, who owns 11 cats, three of which she feeds, is scaling back — at the height of her career she cared for dozens of strays around town.

Jeff Guo/NPR

Barbara’s donation sparked a protracted legal battle, with a group of cat ladies bringing the case and eventually involving the town of Dixfield. The story made national news. But all these years later, no one seemed to know where the money had gone. Did Dixfield’s cat fortune just disappear?

In this episode, host Jeff Guo travels to Maine to track down the money. Find out why Barbara’s plan went awry. And learn about this strange form of economic perpetuity called a charitable trust.

This episode was produced by Willa Rubin, with assistance from Dave Blanchard. Josh Newell provided programming. Sally Helm provided editing, and Sierra Juarez provided fact checking. Jess Jiang is acting executive producer for Planet Money.