D. Barbara McWhite grew up in York County, S.C., and lives in Orange Park, Fla., with her husband and cat. Her column is published here each Tuesday. Opinions expressed are solely her own.

Did you hear the story about Maria Assunta, the Italian tycoon’s widow who left her entire fortune to her pet cat, Tommaso? The cat, a 4-year-old stray rescued from the streets of Rome by the childless widow, has inherited a $13 million fortune — including properties in Rome, Milan and land in Calabria.

Lucky cat!

But what does a young cat do with such a fortune? The average lifespan of a cat is about 12 years. What will he possibly do with all of that money?

I guess he could spend a lot on partying with wild pusses. Maybe buy himself a nice boat or car — a catamaran or perhaps a "Catallac."

Maybe he will want to eat out at expensive restaurants. But a few dozen mice shouldn't cost much.

And that house in Milan (the Italian garment district), I guess he will want dress up in designer clothes and strut his stuff on the catwalk.

In Italy, animals are not allowed to directly inherit, so the fortune has been left in the care of Stefania (who doesn't wish her last name made public), a nurse and trusted friend who cared for Assunta through her illness and until her death four years ago.

Stefania promised that she would look after the cat when Maria was no longer around. “She wanted to be sure that Tommaso would be loved and cuddled," Stefania said in an interview with the Guardian. "But I never imagined that she had this sort of wealth. She was very discreet and quiet. I knew very little of her private life. "

I am pleading with the public to help me locate the nurse, Stefania.

You see I also adopted a stray cat, Rover. And come to think of it, my Rover looks a lot like the tycoon Tommaso. They have the same whiskers and the same slitty little eyes. And their ears are almost identical. In fact, after seeing pictures of Tommaso, I have come to believe that Rover and Tommaso are likely brothers — separated at birth.

I have often wondered why my Rover sometimes cries out in his sleep the name — "Tommaso!" Now, I understand. He is calling for his long lost brother.

So we have hired an attorney to locate Stefania to obtain a DNA sample from Tommaso. We need to determine if indeed the two are bothers.

The fact that Tommaso is rich has no bearing on our decision to seek him out, of course. We just want him to be allowed to reconnect with the brother he lost so many years ago. We want bring this feline family together again.

What a gift that would be for our Rover during this holiday season.

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