Burying cats in back garden

theo2008 · 10-03-2010 6:13pm #1

Hi,

I live in a rented house, there are a lot of wild cats in our back garden (and those of our neighbours). One of them has died. Just want to confirm that it should be okay to bury it in our back garden? A few others died last summer and the tenant then buried them in the garden.

General thoughts on this?

cynder · 10-03-2010 6:18pm

We always buried our pets in the back garden, make it at least 2 foot deep so that another animal wont smell it and try to dig it up. My dad dug a 4 foot deep hole for our dog lassie. I think 2 - 3 foot should be ok for a cat.

the vets also can take them but i think you would have to pay.

lorebringer · 10-03-2010 6:36pm

If you don't want to bury it in the back garden, you can take it to a vet to have it cremated. Mass cremations are not too expensive but you will have to pay for it. It does save on hassel and potential for very nasty smells if you don't bury it deep enough. If you are going to bury it (which is fine too) put it AT LEAST 2 foot down, if not 3, to prevent above mentioned smells and potential of it being dug up. Maybe plant a shrub or a tree over it, something nice.

Magenta · 10-03-2010 7:18pm

You could just bring it to a vet and they dispose of it without cremating it.

Graces7 · 10-03-2010 9:33pm

We had a feral come in through the bathroom window in one rental, to die in comfort.

She was so sweet and so grateful for the warmth and caring in her last few days. So peaceful it was for her.

Rather than bury her there, we took her out to the countryside and buried her in a wild place with stones.

Where she had lived, she became a part of that land then.

It seemed right , and that is what matters to you now to do..

I do hope that the people who bought one house never dig up a certain part as many are buried there...

lorebringer · 10-03-2010 10:55pm

Magenta wrote: »

You could just bring it to a vet and they dispose of it without cremating it.

All veterinary/hospital/laboratory etc. waste has to be incinerated, therefore the cremation of the animal is how vets dispose of them.

Grace7 - that is such a thoughtful way to bury an animal

cynder · 10-03-2010 10:58pm

I though some vets sent the dead animals to be used as feed if not instructed to cremate them???

our one dog died and my dad drove over two hours to her favorite beech and buried her close by ( not in the sand), as the house they lived in had no garden.

bellapip · 10-03-2010 11:03pm

Hey Grace,

Just wanted to say you do your name justice,. what a lovely thought to have about an animal you know very little about and yet you gave it such tenderness both when it was here and when its spirit had left,.

Bell.
x

lorebringer · 10-03-2010 11:04pm

grindelwald wrote: »

I though some vets sent the dead animals to be used as feed if not instructed to cremate them???

I have never heard of this with small, domestic animals - but really don't know. I have heard rumours about various animals being used in certain brands of animal feeds but I cannot confirm or disprove this.

When I say "cremate" I really mean incinerate, just hate using it to describe destroying previous living things

Also, really sweet of your father to do that for his pet, not all bad in the world!

ghost_ie · 11-03-2010 12:05am

I heard a few weeks ago that it's now illegal to bury dogs in your garden - don't know if the same thing applies to cats? Maybe the person who told me was mistaken. Does anyone know if it's true or not?

crotalus667 · 11-03-2010 12:49am

ghost_ie wrote: »

Does anyone know if it's true or not?

it's true you cant bury a dog i dont know about cats

m5ex9oqjawdg2i · 11-03-2010 1:09am

crotalus667 wrote: »

it's true you cant bury a dog i dont know about cats

Any reason as to why it's illegal?

crotalus667 · 11-03-2010 2:00am

Nataly Spicy Weevil wrote: »

Any reason as to why it's illegal?

Health and safety

morganafay · 11-03-2010 3:00pm

I hope they don't dig up my old garden . . . but my new garden doesn't have very deep soil, just rubble with some soil, so we buried a cat and a rabbit in the bit of land behind my house (the land isn't being used but don't tell the farmer) . . . I could only bury my guinea pig in the garden.

This might sound bad, but could you dispose of the cat with your normal household waste. I know it doesn't sound nice, but afterall, the cat isn't alive anymore, it is just a body, not its soul.

I know in my local vet it is 20 or 25 euro for them to cremate an animal, not sure if it depends on what size but it might be cheaper for a cat?

morganafay · 11-03-2010 3:02pm

And just wondering, are the wild cats sickly, or do you know how it died? I had a kitten with FeLV that had to be put down and the vet said to either burn it or bury it really really deep (we buried her) and burn its bedding etc, and disinfect everything.

Mink · 11-03-2010 6:27pm

My sister's cat died while she was away. Only a tenant in the house (she was feeding the cat of course). So I'd to take the poor dead kitty down to the vet to be cremated. It cost 50 euro.

I probably would have buried her but my sister & her OH wanted me to see if I could find out how she died as she was quite young & appeared healthy.

They don't do autopsies unless you pay for it but the vet was able to give some idea.

star-pants · 12-03-2010 9:07am

IIRC I couldn't find a specific law on animal burial before, I would suggest contacting your local County Council and asking perhaps if it's allowed?

P.S. this is being moved to Animal Welfare so please note posts will not appear immediately

Burying cats in back garden

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