DIXFIELD – Rumford lawyer Seth Carey told a group of 15 residents Wednesday night that he plans to resolve the longstanding question of where the money is that a Dixfield woman left in her will to care for stray and unwanted cats in town.

Philanthropist Barbara Thorpe reportedly left nearly $250,000 in her will to help abandoned cats. She died in 2002 at the age of 76.

“So where is the cat money? Carey asked Wednesday night. “Money is in various bonds, and there is a trust for the purpose of animals, but no money is going to the animals.”

Thorpe’s former attorney, David Austin of Rumford, is representing her former housekeeper and the trustee of her estate, Gertrude Crosby, according to the Rumford Falls Times.

Crosby sent two checks for $1,300 each – one two years ago and another recently – to Caddy Smith who, with her sister, Brenda Jarvis, maintains a home for strays, Jarvis said Wednesday night.

According to the Rumford Falls Times, Crosby earned $8 an hour cleaning Thorpe’s house. When Thorpe went into a nursing home, Crosby began to pay herself $35 an hour, then $65, and finally $100, the newspaper quoted Carey as saying.

“The will should be carried out. I can’t understand how the same lawyer can serve both sides,” said Bob Johnson, who chaired the meeting.

Carey said if their case is successful, some money would go to the sisters, who for 17 years have been using the trailer their parents used to live in to house the animals.

Residents said Wednesday night that feeding a growing number of strays has become a financial burden for those concerned with animal welfare, and they want to know what Thorpe left and see it used as intended. Carey and his father, Tom Carey, also a lawyer in Rumford, are representing them in the matter.

“This issue with the cats will be resolved,” Seth Carey said. “We are fully involved and will see it to the end. The biggest issue is the fees that were charged. How do you go from $8 to $100 an hour?” he asked.

In the meantime, Smith and Jarvis said they will continue giving the strays and abandoned cats a home.

“On Saturday, I found a box beside the Canton Point Road with three adorable little kittens,” Jarvis said.

“We don’t run a shelter, we have a home for cats. We love them and care for them,” she said.