This Historic Hancock Park Home Once Was The Cat's Meow

HANCOCK PARK (CBSLA.com) — A house in Hancock Park, recently won a prestigious historical society award, but the estate's former owner — a cat — is grabbing headlines, too.

CBS2/KCAL9's Rebecca Ferriter has details.

The two-story home built in 1929 has been converted to five units. Bob Terry lives in the penthouse. The unit below, he says, has a furry past.

"Well, I know she owned the property, and she died and left it to her cat," Terry said.

He's talking about Thelma Gimbel, who lived there for 50 years. To ensure her beloved cat was taken care of, a trust was established upon her death with all proceeds from the sale of the home going to an animal rescue on behalf of the cat.

"All the estate technically went to her cat to be taken care of," Terry said. "After the cat passed, it would go to the Doris Day Animal Foundation. ... I don't think the cat lived here after her passing; it was cared for somewhere else."

Estate planning attorney Sara Polinsky said it's an arrangement that isn't uncommon among pet owners.

"People sometimes have anxiety when it comes to children and pets who are helpless in some ways, and so to be able to provide for them gives them a tremendous sense of peace and comfort," Polinsky said.

Another famous resident of the building? 1950s actress Ann Sothern is said to have been a resident in the past.