Pet Advice (safe area, college, price)

[mcp6453]

Our 14 year old cat just passed away in his sleep. We don't have the option of burying on our property. The vet wants $72 to cremate, but they're not open until tomorrow. What should we do tonight?

Our 21 year old daughter is away at college, and she is going to be devastated. If we tell her now, she is going to want to drive home, which makes no sense at all. She's 3-1/2 hours away. When do we tell her?

[zthatzmanz28]

We know what we would do, but may be there is no space around the house?

Only other option is to wait for morning and see the vet.

Not sure about the daughter question. Honestly we might just tell her this weekend? It is a new semester at college, right?

Difficult decision for sure...

[steve54]

Originally Posted by mcp6453

Our 14 year old cat just passed away in his sleep. We don't have the option of burying on our property. The vet wants $72 to cremate, but they're not open until tomorrow. What should we do tonight?

Our 21 year old daughter is away at college, and she is going to be devastated. If we tell her now, she is going to want to drive home, which makes no sense at all. She's 3-1/2 hours away. When do we tell her?

Personally, I think, with the weather as cold as it it and only having to wait until tomorrow, storage shouldn't be an issue . I'd find an appropriate sized box (shoe box or similar) and put the cat in there and leave it in the garage until tomorrow when you can deal with things better. I'd also wait until tomorrow until I told my daughter
Hope that helps

[DiJay]

So sorry to hear about the loss of your kitty today. This might sound weird, but if you have some of those heavy green trash bags you could wrap her up tight in a couple. That will stop decomposition and then you can get to the vet tomorrow. Meanwhile, is there a safe area outside (in a barrel w/ tight lid) you could stick the bags in there until tomorrow.

That's what I would do but there may be a better suggestion coming along shortly...

Sorry about your kitty. We lost our 16 yr old cat in November. Hang in there...

[mcp6453]

Okay, here's what happened. We contacted http://www.carolinapetservices.com. They came out and picked up our cat for cremation. Their price was the most reasonable we found. The gentleman was wonderful.

Let me recommend that if you anticipate having a similar issue arise in your life with a pet, you might want to go ahead and do some research on your options. These decisions (whether to cremate or bury and such) are hard to make when you're upset.

Thanks for the input.

[lovebrentwood]

My experience...

About six years ago, my son accompanied me to the vet to put down our very ill 18-year-old Sheltie mix (yes, 18!). The dog was as old as he was.

To this day, he is angry that I picked the cheap way to bury her instead of the more expensive one that had more dignity.

I had no CLUE he felt that way -- until a few years later.

If I had to do it all over again, I'd just do it myself and not say a thing about burial arrangements -- I'd just say, "I'm sorry, she's gone, and the vet took care of her remains."

For your daughter, maybe you should find a photo of your cat and put it in a little frame. Having something to "memorialize" the cat might help her in expressing her grief and eventually heal from the loss. It might help with the emptiness she is sure to feel.

[adlnc07]

Originally Posted by mcp6453

Okay, here's what happened. We contacted http://www.carolinapetservices.com. They came out and picked up our cat for cremation. Their price was the most reasonable we found. The gentleman was wonderful.

Let me recommend that if you anticipate having a similar issue arise in your life with a pet, you might want to go ahead and do some research on your options. These decisions (whether to cremate or bury and such) are hard to make when you're upset.

Thanks for the input.

Thanks for the link - I had no idea such services existed (and I've always wondered what I'd do if a pet passed away at home).

I'm sorry for the loss of your kitty as well.

[DiJay]

Yes, thank you so much for the information. I had no idea that service even existed.

[Francois]

It will be fine to keep for a few days until you can cremate. Our last kitty died and then rigor mortis set in, so it was like he was "stuffed" for a few days until we buried him; we just kept him wrapped in a towel and it looked like he was sleeping.