Surprised to inherit a retirement account from his former wife, Patrick Wiggins never quite felt the money was his.

So Wiggins and his cat, Pumpkin, recently made a $46,000 donation to the Humane Society of Utah, which will use it to help fund the construction of a new "cat condos" adoption area at its center at 4242 S. 300 W. in Murray.

Wiggins, of Stansbury Park, adopted Pumpkin from the shelter several months ago, and as a lifelong animal lover, he wanted to help other cats find forever homes. Known for his long career as NASA solar system ambassador to Utah and at the Hansen and Clark planetariums, Wiggins hopes the donation will show a different side of him.

The $2 million condo project will give cats their own space, rather than the shared facilities that currently house them. The "condos" give cats mini living rooms, where potential owners can meet felines in a home-like setting. They can even bring in their current pets to see how they get along with potential new family members.

The new digs should create a less-stressful and calming environment for cats, said Gene Baierschmidt, the shelter’s executive director.

"It’s going to be a new experience in cat adoptions," Baierschmidt said.

Wiggins has been a Humane Society volunteer for more than 20 years, and has made several smaller donations in the past. But it wasn’t until recently he had the means to make a large donation.

Wiggins and his former wife, Colleen Caron, had remained friendly after their divorce, but Wiggins was still surprised to find himself a beneficiary of her will.

Wiggins had held on to the money in the years since Caron’s death. Caron was also an animal lover, so Wiggins had been using the yearly interest to make smaller donations to animal organizations. But when Baierschmidt mentioned the condo project, Wiggins knew where the money should go.

"It seemed right," Wiggins said. "Every year I’ve been making out those smaller checks."

The condos should be completed in April 2012, and Humane Society officials hope the new complex will help them increase cat adoptions from around 3,000 a year to 5,000 a year.

The society is still seeking donors for other features in the new cat facility, including several rooms that can be sponsored as memorials to loved ones or pets.