Saying goodbye to your cat is never easy. Even if she’s enjoyed a long and happy life and you’ve given her the best care you possibly could, that final farewell is bound to be a wrench. Once your cat is gone, you may want to keep her with you or perhaps put her to rest in one of her favourite outdoor spots. Cremation is one way you can do this. In this article, we’ll take a look at the various pet cremation services on offer and how much you can expect to pay.
How much does cremating a cat cost? In the US, expect to pay between $70-$250 for a cat cremation. Much depends on the vet and what additional services you require, such as a return of the ashes and what type of receptacle you will be using. High-end specialist services may cost more.
Whether your pet has recently passed or is in failing health, you probably have a lot of questions and concerns. How much will cremating my cat cost? Will I get the ashes back? What kinds of receptacle are available? What if I decide against cremation and wish to bury my pet at home? Keep reading to find out the answers to these and other questions.
The cost of cremation
How much does cremating a cat cost? There’s no cut-and-dried answer. The most basic options start at well under $100. This is the lowest amount you are likely to pay if you have your cat cremated at the vet. The cost of cremation may be fairly modest; $80-1000 are the typical low-end figures. That said, some vets charge more.
You may also find that certain services bump the price up quite a lot. In particular, expect to pay extra if you actually want to take your cat’s ashes home. It’s important to check with your vet whether they offer such a service — in many cases, your cat will be cremated with other animals and their combined ashes will be scattered in a communal area.
If you plan to take your cat home after cremation you may have to look elsewhere. (If your vet charges very much more than $130 for a basic communal cremation and won’t give you a reasonable explanation as to why: run, don’t walk, to a pet cremation service.
Vets save a significant amount by using this kind of service and they should be passing at least some of those savings onto you. Additional money should buy you additional services.) Your vet will usually be happy to suggest an appropriate service in your area.
Specialist pet cremation services do exist but they’re not available everywhere. You may need to travel a little if you want your cat’s ashes given back. That said, there are various options; some services allow for sending your cat to the crematorium and receiving the ashes back by mail.
This can be a good option if getting to a crematorium is an issue. Your cat was very dear to you in life and you’re probably concerned about making sure she gets the send-off she deserves.
You may also be anxious about finding the money for cremation costs on top of everything else — bills relating to her final illness, the cost of euthanasia if this was necessary, and more. In the upcoming sections, we’ll look at inexpensive options as well as more high-end cremation services. We’ll also consider the various alternatives to cremation that are available should you decide that cremation isn’t right for you after all.
Why cremate?
There’s no right or wrong way to cope with the grief of losing your kitty. Everyone has a different idea of what they want their pet’s final resting place to be. In the past, people would generally leave their cats with the vet for disposal or bring her back for home burial. Today, more and more pet owners are choosing cremation as a safe, respectful and environmentally conscious way of saying goodbye to a deceased pet.
Cremation involves heating your pet’s remains to a very high temperature, reducing them to ash. All that is left after the process are a few bones, which are finely processed into a powder. What is returned to you is a small amount of ash and powder, sterile and completely safe.
Cremation is seen as more hygienic than a garden burial and also makes it easier to keep your cat’s remains with you if you so choose, even if you later move house. Another positive benefit to cremation is that you won’t suffer the heartache of someone accidentally digging up your cat while gardening, or find her body disturbed by scavengers. Cremation is clean, simple and easy to arrange, allowing you many different options for disposal or retention of your cat’s ashes.
What is cremation? What does it involve?
The precise process will vary somewhat between crematoria. In general, however, they follow roughly the same protocols. Your cat will be placed in a cremation chamber; this is a large, heat-resistant receptacle with a solid floor. This chamber is carefully cleaned between each use.
The crematorium should prepare paperwork for your cat and keep it with her body at all times; when she’s placed in the cremation chamber, paperwork will be attached to the outside so people know exactly who is in the chamber and who her owners are.
A careful log is kept of all the animals to be cremated, ensuring that your cat’s remains can never be confused with those of another pet. The cremation chamber is heated to a very high temperature — at least 1100°C and probably higher.
The cat’s remains stay inside the chamber until nothing is left except a sterile, desiccated skeleton and any metallic items such as identifying tags. The metals are removed using a powerful magnet and the bones are passed through a machine called a cremulator. The cremulator breaks the bones down to a fine powder so that they are easy to store or scatter. Everything in a good crematorium is very clean, hygienic and respectful.
Why shouldn’t I just use my vet’s cremation service?
In some cases, this is a perfectly good option. Your vet is probably someone you’ve trusted with your cat’s health for years; it makes good sense to trust them with caring for her after she dies. Some vets use a small local crematorium where your cat will receive a respectful send-off, with various options for recovering your pet’s ashes after the procedure. In many cases, however, this isn’t what happens.
It’s unfortunate but in the case of many large veterinary practices, “cremation” is a euphemism for “placed in an incinerator with many other animals and then transferred to a communal site, possibly a landfill”. It’s fine, by the way, to feel that you have already said goodbye and you’re comfortable with your cat’s remains resting among those of other much-loved animals.
This is not disrespectful and you can still have a meaningful farewell if you choose this option. That said, not everyone feels that a communal cremation and grave is what they want. Many owners arrange to have their cat cremated by the vet and are shocked when they discover, too late, that they won’t be able to be present at the cremation or recover her ashes.
Some vets offer a list of options, from simple communal cremation to more individual services, such as separate cremation and the return of your cat’s ashes in the urn or other receptacles of your choice. If none of these suits you, or if your vet is one of those who only offer communal cremation, you may need to look into specialist pet cremation services.