Kitty’s Life Is the Cat’s Meow After He Inherits $500,000 : Friendship: Ann Morgan believed she had a lifetime commitment to care for Tinker, who restored her will to live when he came to live with her 10 years ago.

SEATTLE — When Ann Morgan died and left her $500,000 estate to a male, much younger companion, there were no complaints--the beneficiary was her cat, Tinker.

Morgan’s will stipulates that her apartment be maintained and a caretaker be hired for Tinker, a fluffy white Turkish Angora type she described as “my best friend and companion.”

“She felt that once you took an animal, it was a lifelong commitment,” said Ruth Ward, a friend of Morgan’s.

Morgan, 74, died in May--a month after putting Tinker in her will. After Tinker’s death, the balance of Morgan’s $500,000 estate will go to charity.

Morgan never married and lived alone. She got Tinker about 10 years ago after a long succession of dogs.

“This cat was Ann’s life,” Ward said.

“At the time she got Tinker, Ann was not feeling well and was depressed. The kitten gave her a reason to keep living. You could see the smile return to her face after she brought it home,” Ward said.

Morgan’s estate will pay for the $385 monthly rent on the apartment, a caretaker’s salary, Tinker’s veterinarian bills, his eventual burial at a pet cemetery and flowers for his grave at Christmas and Easter.