I hope it's ok to post this here.
Just a warning, some people may find this issue to be sensitive and upsetting. If you just lost a pet, you may be upset by this thread.
.
Ideally, I wish I could bury my cats somewhere where we could all be together at the very end where no one will ever bother our gravesites. I realize that's completely unrealistic and that sometimes human cemeteries get moved so the land can be developed. I've buried some of my cats on my property, but it upsets me that in 5-15 years I'll have to move and leave my babies behind. They weren't buried in a way that I could dig up their graves and take them with me. It bothers me to think that the next person who owns this property may end up digging up my babies or destroying their gravesite.
Knowing this, I choose private cremations. But I also don't fully trust crematories as there have been stories about some of them. I wish I could watch the entire process so I know that I'm actually getting my cat's ashes back, but most I've encountered don't permit that, not even for human cremations. But I find that I have to put my trust in them and hope for the best. I've found it unsettling when I've gotten back ashes/urns where the ligher weight cat's urn seemed heavier than the heavier cat's urn even though the urns are the same material. I've thought about taking out the little bag of ashes and weighing them, but sometimes ignorance is bliss.
The problem is that with the rising costs of everything, it's becoming a problem to use the private cremation services through the vet clinic. Even the commingled cremation service is kind of expensive. I have other cat's that need veterinary care and I have to think about that.
On Saturday I unexpectedly lost my cat. I found that I can get her privately cremated at a local human funeral home for a decent price. It doesn't cost that much more than using a commingled pet crematory service through the vet. However, my family is upset with me for wanting to pay an extra $170 to get her cremated. They would prefer I bury her in the yard with the other cats.
But to me, $170 is worth piece of mind. It's better than paying an extra $400 that the vet clinic charges for private cremations. It's better than the extra $100 I would have to pay for the commingled cremation where I get no ashes back.
I don't know what I'm going to do with all these ashes though. When I die, who will follow my wishes and mix my ashes with all my cats' ashes and scatter us on the property we used to live on? I won't have anyone to do this. So maybe I should just bury the cat. But I don't want to. For right now, private cremation through the funeral home is giving me piece of mind.
I don't know. I wouldn't mind opinions on this because maybe someone has a point of view that I haven't thought of. I just know that I think a deceased body should be treated with respect and their wishes carried out. My family doesn't care about a deceased body because the soul has left the body and that the body is really just a vessel. OK, they're entitled to their beliefs, but I'm also entitled to mine.
Just a warning, some people may find this issue to be sensitive and upsetting. If you just lost a pet, you may be upset by this thread.
.
Ideally, I wish I could bury my cats somewhere where we could all be together at the very end where no one will ever bother our gravesites. I realize that's completely unrealistic and that sometimes human cemeteries get moved so the land can be developed. I've buried some of my cats on my property, but it upsets me that in 5-15 years I'll have to move and leave my babies behind. They weren't buried in a way that I could dig up their graves and take them with me. It bothers me to think that the next person who owns this property may end up digging up my babies or destroying their gravesite.
Knowing this, I choose private cremations. But I also don't fully trust crematories as there have been stories about some of them. I wish I could watch the entire process so I know that I'm actually getting my cat's ashes back, but most I've encountered don't permit that, not even for human cremations. But I find that I have to put my trust in them and hope for the best. I've found it unsettling when I've gotten back ashes/urns where the ligher weight cat's urn seemed heavier than the heavier cat's urn even though the urns are the same material. I've thought about taking out the little bag of ashes and weighing them, but sometimes ignorance is bliss.
The problem is that with the rising costs of everything, it's becoming a problem to use the private cremation services through the vet clinic. Even the commingled cremation service is kind of expensive. I have other cat's that need veterinary care and I have to think about that.
On Saturday I unexpectedly lost my cat. I found that I can get her privately cremated at a local human funeral home for a decent price. It doesn't cost that much more than using a commingled pet crematory service through the vet. However, my family is upset with me for wanting to pay an extra $170 to get her cremated. They would prefer I bury her in the yard with the other cats.
But to me, $170 is worth piece of mind. It's better than paying an extra $400 that the vet clinic charges for private cremations. It's better than the extra $100 I would have to pay for the commingled cremation where I get no ashes back.
I don't know what I'm going to do with all these ashes though. When I die, who will follow my wishes and mix my ashes with all my cats' ashes and scatter us on the property we used to live on? I won't have anyone to do this. So maybe I should just bury the cat. But I don't want to. For right now, private cremation through the funeral home is giving me piece of mind.
I don't know. I wouldn't mind opinions on this because maybe someone has a point of view that I haven't thought of. I just know that I think a deceased body should be treated with respect and their wishes carried out. My family doesn't care about a deceased body because the soul has left the body and that the body is really just a vessel. OK, they're entitled to their beliefs, but I'm also entitled to mine.