My cat died

[Grizz]

My cat of 9 years died this morning - wife and I are devastated. We've had her & her brother as kittens since we got married in 2001 when we got back from our wedding in Ireland and adopted them from a rescue centre.

The two cats get kept in at night and we found Kookie lying on her side, eyes open but clearly dead first thing this morning. The other one (Fudge) was sleeping in the same room as her and I guess its good that she at least died in his company and in her own house. I've always said to the wife that I dread the day that I'd maybe have to put one of them down or find them in the road etc, so at least I've managed to avoid that.

I stay in Bathgate and was just wondering if anybody knew of local pet cremation services offered and the costs involved? We were really close to them and, as daft as it probably sounds, I'd like to get something decent done for her.

Just seems so sudden - Apart from being a bit of a big lassie, there was no obvious signs or indication she was unwell at all. She was hiding most of yesterday, but then she always does her own wee quiet thing (hide in the garden, snoozing in my room). We're surrounded by cat owners in the street so don't think anybody would've poisioned her and there's no sign of any injury.

Anyway, thanks in advance folks.

[BroxburnHibee]

Sorry to hear that buddy. I have lost a couple of cats in the last few years (both rescue) and I take comfort in knowing we have at least gave them a good home and hopefully a good life.

Does your vet not offer a cremation service? If you're insured it should be covered.

[mglancy23]

sorry to here about your loss!

my cat died recently too, was very hard to take! we had him 14 years and he was part of the family. its still weird going home and not seeing him there.

will take time to get over it, probably hard for people that don't have pets to understand (e.g people at my work) but pet owners don't see them as pets but as family. i can understand how you are feeling just now.

sorry for your loss, apologies for not knowing the answer to your question.

mark

[Toaods]

this may not go down to well but here goes anyway...


similar to you, we had two kittens when we bought our first flat. Same litter, great cats, helathy and never cost us a bolt. Endless hours of fun and they were indeed a large part of our life - before and after the arrival of our daughter.

One (BLUE) was a wee thing, believed to be the 'runt' of the litter, the other (YELLOW) a big tomcat and a fine specimen. Blue developed diabetis and we spent s good few quid at he vets which reached teh stage wehere my wife was giving him insulin injections everyday. COst were mounting and his condition deteriorated quite swiftly where we reached the point of no return.

The bg guy (YELLOW) survived a car accident in which he split his pelvis in two and broke his jaw. A passing neighbour brought it to our attention as she'd heard a distressed miaow only to notice him lying on our driveway. He'd suffred so much damage but had dragged himself towards home, blunting his front claws in the effort. A vet down in Musselburgh came to see him on an emergency call and took him in and was so struck by the story they charged us very little for all his care. Most(!) of our neighbours and all the local kids thought he was fab. He lived a few more years to reach the age of 18.

Point of my story is when Blue died we had him cremated and received a wee casket , etc.... I think it cost over £80 over and above the treatment fees. We still have the casket sitting in a cupboard. When Yellow died, it just seemed to be a bit worthless the thought of having another box so I took Wee Toaods along when going to the vet and said our goodbyes there.

People view things differently of course but now that a couple of years have gone by, I think you are as well just letting the vets do their thing and best of all, you will have your memories to cherish forever.


PS. Wee Toaods loves your cat names...

[Jay]

Your vet will offer cremation services but it probably wont be covered on your insurance - our cats wasn't with Pet Plan. It wasn't overly expensive (£40 rings a bell) unless you wanted the ashes back but I think my friend said even that was only about £80 for her wee cat and she got them back in a lovely box with the cats name on a wee plaque.

If you really want to know the cause of death the vet will do a post mortem but it will obviously cost, might be worth it asking the vet his opinion in case its something that may affect the other cat.

Sorry for your loss its a horrible thing to lose a pet.

edit: The £40 might have included euthanasia.

[ArabHibee]

Sorry to hear about your loss.

As someone else said, folks that have never owned an animal like a cat or dog will not understand how devastating this can be for you. I was one of these people until I owned cats and dogs and was floored by how upset i was when my first cat died at the age of 6 months.

I can also understand where Toaods is coming from too. I was asked if I wanted my cat cremated and decided against it. At the time, I lived in a flat, so didn't have a garden to bury her in. One of my friends allowed me to put a little cat ornament in a quiet place in her garden and its still there to this day. I also bought a soft toy that looked like my cat (sad, I know) and its still in my bedroom.

Sorry I can't answer your question about cremation but there are other ways you can remember your family pets.

[HibsMax]

Sorry to hear of your loss.

I can't offer you any advice since I am over here in Boston but when our cat, Bat Girl, passed we had her cremated and my wife sent her ashes to a lady who makes stained glass boxes for the remains. Sounds a little macabre but we have her in our bedroom. She was a big part of our lives so she sits on a chest of drawers with her favourite toy (a simple chain) coiled on top.

[Grizz]

Thanks for all the responses guys, it's been a great help reading through other people's experiences.

Hoping that the vet will offer us a few options today for her body - Don't mind paying for a decent wee cremation arrangement for her because she's been a great family pet!

Wee shame for the other cat, as he's still wandering around the hoose & garden looking for her (even though I showed her to him yesterday). It's funny how the wee buggers can affect you...

Cheers again folks!

[Diclonius]

Sorry to hear that mate, I'll know how you feel soon enough as my 15 year old cat has terminal cancer. Dreading the day when we have to put him down.

[New Corrie]

Sadly, I am just back from the vet having had to get the family dog (Sally) put down. It is really upsetting as we had her for 16 years, and plenty tears have been shed today. We also lost James (one of our cats) who got run down a wee while back, so we are not having a great run pet wise. It's hugely important to have a compassionate vet, and Gerry who runs Drum Brae Vets is exactly that. He does genuinly care a lot, and we got Jame's ashes back in a casket and we will do the same for Sally.

[Toaods]

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It's hugely important to have a compassionate vet, and Gerry who runs Drum Brae Vets is exactly that. He does genuinly care a lot,

agree 100% Duncan...our first vet IMHO gave my other half false hope our wee moggie was ever going to beat Diabetis and when it came to the crunch the tube slipped up and told me so in as many words...never went back.

On the other hand all the staff at the Musselburgh one(and I don't drive) couldn't have been any more caring and helpful.


Braid Vet at the Dick Vet crossroads ...tosser.

[New Corrie]

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agree 100% Duncan...our first vet IMHO gave my other half false hope our wee moggie was ever going to beat Diabetis and when it came to the crunch the tube slipped up and told me so in as many words...never went back.

On teh other hand all the staff at the Musselburgh one(and I don't drive) couldn't have been any more caring and helpful.


Braid Vet at the Dick Vet crossroads ...tosser.

I am glad to hear that Toaods, as I was for long enough using a vet (Queensferry road/Blackhall) that was just wanting to take as much money off me as possible. We were, at one stage with 5 cats and 2 dogs!!!! and when we moved to Drum Brae Vets, Gerry was thinking more about the animal's wellbeing, rather than lining his own pockets. I'm basically saying, that if you're a pet owner who cares, out this neck of the woods, you could do a lot worse than using Drume Brae!!!!!