What do you do when a small pet dies and you can't bury it because the ground is frozen? LAST UPDATE!

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

LAST UPDATE:

 

He's back to normal!!! I haven't seen him run on his wheel yet--which doesn't mean he isn't, I just haven't seen it. They tend to stop whatever they're doing and rush to the front of the cage when I walk in. Maybe it's because I'm the bringer of treats? :lol: Anyway, he's doing all his normal things, eating and drinking normally, scuffling with his brother normally, pushing his way out of his cage and adventuring around the dresser top, dust bathing, etc. 

 

I warned the kids that this could be just a brief reprieve so we should be prepared for him to fail again, but in the meantime we'll enjoy the time we have left.

 

Thanks again, everyone! I couldn't have predicted this outcome, and you all helped me so much through the hard parts of the whole thing.  

 

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DD12's gerbil is dying...slowly :( I really thought he'd be gone by this morning, but he's hanging on. It's too sad. I think today will be the end. I hope!

 

Anyway, we would normally bury him in the backyard, but the ground is frozen solid out there right now. What else could we do with him? I'm thinking the only other option is the garbage, which seems kind of insensitive. There is no way that DH will ever in a million years agree to doing something like putting him in the freezer until spring. I'm actually tempted to ask just to see his reaction  :tongue_smilie:

 

Any other creative ideas? 

 

 

 

[DawnM]

Well, I probably won't be helpful because we threw our hamster in the trash, along with his cage......dont' know if you remember my long saga or not, but my DH thought it a good idea to put the hamster back IN the cage, dead, before work, because he didn't have time to deal with it and a few other reasons.

I wouldn't TOUCH it and it creeped me out to have a dead hamster in the house, so I tossed the entire thing in the trash cans outside.

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

Well, I probably won't be helpful because we threw our hamster in the trash, along with his cage......dont' know if you remember my long saga or not, but my DH thought it a good idea to put the hamster back IN the cage, dead, before work, because he didn't have time to deal with it and a few other reasons.

I wouldn't TOUCH it and it creeped me out to have a dead hamster in the house, so I tossed the entire thing in the trash cans outside.

 

Oh no!!! I don't really blame you, though I'm the dead pet handler around here. Frankly, if it was just me, I wouldn't mind the garbage. But I don't think the kids are going to go for that. 

[texasmama]

Wrap the body in a washcloth, put it in a double plastic baggie and freeze it until the ground thaws and you can hold a proper funeral and burial.

 

I am grossed out by touching dead animals, too, so I wear gloves or otherwise find a way to handle them without touching them with bare hands.  We have buried at least 5 hamsters in the past ten years.  When they are near the end, we line a shoe box with tissues and have a "hospice box" and carry them everywhere.  I once dropped dd off at piano and then went through the bank drive through managing the dying hamster in a hospice box in my lap.  You gotta do what you gotta do, you know?

 

ETA:  I see that your dh will not agree to the freezer treatment.  Find someone who will - a kind neighbor, close friend or grandma who feels sorry for the poor dd.

[texasmama]

Failing that, make dh dig a shallow grave since he will not agree to the freezer treatment.  ;)  We bury ours in the flower beds so the ground is a bit softer there.  Under the rosebushes is a lovely place.

[sunflowerlady]

Nm- I am a native Floridian with no idea of the "frozen ground" problem. My ideas probably were totally ridiculous and I don't want to be the object of people doing this- :huh:  :lol:  :confused1:  :smash:

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

Wrap the body in a washcloth, put it in a double plastic baggie and freeze it until the ground thaws and you can hold a proper funeral and burial.

 

I am grossed out by touching dead animals, too, so I wear gloves or otherwise find a way to handle them without touching them with bare hands.  We have buried at least 5 hamsters in the past ten years.  When they are near the end, we line a shoe box with tissues and have a "hospice box" and carry them everywhere.  I once dropped dd off at piano and then went through the bank drive through managing the dying hamster in a hospice box in my lap.  You gotta do what you gotta do, you know?

 

ETA:  I see that your dh will not agree to the freezer treatment.  Find someone who will - a kind neighbor, close friend or grandma who feels sorry for the poor dd.

 

Aw! You sound like me. When our other little gerbil woke up with a paralyzed back end one morning, I was a total wreck. The vet kept talking to the kids about what could be happening, and in the meantime I was the one with the shaky voice and red eyes :lol: We did the whole thing with the box too, and I had to watch him to make sure he was eliminating, and we all cheered when he did. Thankfully, he made a full recovery, but I don't think we're going to get a miracle this time :(

 

I'll try the shallow grave thing. I can't think of a neighbor who wouldn't laugh at us, and my parents won't do the freezer thing either. My father would be more likely to drive over here and help us find a way to bury him though! Good point about the flowerbeds. We have some well mulched lilac trees in the back--maybe I can manage to dig down a bit under there.

 

Thanks.

 

[BigMamaBird]

Call a local vet and see if they can dispose of it with their other deceased pets.  Explain it's just a gerbil and you don't want it cremated or anything.

 

Or find an open bit of river or pond and have a viking funeral.  Let him go in style!

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

Nm- I am a native Floridian with no idea of the "frozen ground" problem. My ideas probably were totally ridiculous and I don't want to be the object of people doing this- :huh:  :lol:  :confused1:  :smash:

 

Ha, no worries. Thanks for trying!

 

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

Or find an open bit of river or pond and have a viking funeral.  Let him go in style!

 

I LOVE THIS! He has a Viking personality too :lol: Of course, with my luck we'd get caught and fined for dumping dead things in the river. 

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

OK, now I'm actually thinking we may call the vet and see if they can go ahead and euthanize him. I don't know if we can take another day of this. He's so obviously unhappy and very sick in there :( I'm reasonably sure it's cancer--he has a tiny little growth on his tummy that can sometimes mean bigger growths on the inside. I can't decide if it's kinder to let him stay in his cage with his brother and suffer on for a few days or take him away by himself and have it over with.

 

No more pets after this!!!! My heart can't take it.

[Plink]

:(  So sorry about your pet.

 

We bury little creatures by placing them, wrapped in cloth, on the snow and pouring a bag of soil on top.  As the snow melts the heap drops, critter and all.  Sometimes we need to re-adjust the pile in spring to make the grave deeper, but rarely.

[datgh]

I'd put him in the freezer until spring.  My dh never goes in it except for ice cream so as long as the deceased was somewhere in the back he wouldn't even know.  I just can't bring myself to dispose of them in the garbage.  They brought joy to my life and deserve a burial with dignity in my opinion. My dh doesn't agree so we just agree to disagree on this. On the other hand when it comes to the dog he dug a hole in the woods when he rented a backhoe a couple of years before the dogs death so he would have a place when the time came. It did come when the ground was frozen so I do have to give him credit for thinking ahead. I feel your pain on this one.  I hope you can find some soft enough ground under the lilacs.

[TrixieB]

I am so sorry to hear about your poor little guy being sick.

 

If you can take him to the vet, that would be good.  The little growth might be a scent gland tumor, which can sometimes be removed, or it could be something else. :(

 

We have had a number of small pets over the years.  Because the first couple passed quickly after appearing ill, I assumed that that was how it always happened, but that ended up not being true for the others.  Some of them lingered slowly for too long. The last one I took to the vet, and although it was very sad, I feel that it was the humane thing to do.

 

:grouphug:

[liber]

Freezer. We had our cat in the freezer until spring, wrapped up in a towel and placed in a box.

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

I am so sorry to hear about your poor little guy being sick.

 

If you can take him to the vet, that would be good.  The little growth might be a scent gland tumor, which can sometimes be removed, or it could be something else. :(

 

We have had a number of small pets over the years.  Because the first couple passed quickly after appearing ill, I assumed that that was how it always happened, but that ended up not being true for the others.  Some of them lingered slowly for too long. The last one I took to the vet, and although it was very sad, I feel that it was the humane thing to do.

 

:grouphug:

 

That's exactly what the little growth is. It's still small, and he's 2 years and three months now, so I figured we had a little time, and he's old enough that he's lived a good full life already (and DH is adamantly opposed to spending another couple hundred dollars on gerbil healthcare at this point; given our finances, I don't blame him). Well, the outside tumor has remained small, but obviously he has a lot more going on inside than I realized :(

 

I'm reasonably sure there's no saving him at this point. He was in what appeared to be leg pain a few weeks ago, but he improved rapidly after a few days and was back to normal. I suspect it was the first stage of whatever this is. He's barely eating, not drinking at all (even when we help him), just staying curled up in his bed, or the far corner if his brother is jostling him too much. 

 

I wish he would go naturally, at home with his brother, in his own warm bed. But I hate that he's suffering *sigh*

[TrixieB]

That's exactly what the little growth is. It's still small, and he's 2 years and three months now, so I figured we had a little time, and he's old enough that he's lived a good full life already (and DH is adamantly opposed to spending another couple hundred dollars on gerbil healthcare at this point; given our finances, I don't blame him). Well, the outside tumor has remained small, but obviously he has a lot more going on inside than I realized :(

 

I'm reasonably sure there's no saving him at this point. He was in what appeared to be leg pain a few weeks ago, but he improved rapidly after a few days and was back to normal. I suspect it was the first stage of whatever this is. He's barely eating, not drinking at all (even when we help him), just staying curled up in his bed, or the far corner if his brother is jostling him too much. 

 

I wish he would go naturally, at home with his brother, in his own warm bed. But I hate that he's suffering *sigh*

 

That is what I always wished, too, but it happened less than half the time.  I understand your dh's point, and I feel the same way.  I will spend for a checkup, medication for something that can be improved/cured, but surgery for an elderly small pet is not in our budget, especially when it's so hard to tell exactly what is wrong with the little guys and the chances of them surviving and thriving is not great.  Most of our recent gerbils haven't made it much past two years. 

 

:grouphug:  :grouphug: :grouphug:  

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

That is what I always wished, too, but it happened less than half the time.  I understand your dh's point, and I feel the same way.  I will spend for a checkup, medication for something that can be improved/cured, but surgery for an elderly small pet is not in our budget, especially when it's so hard to tell exactly what is wrong with the little guys and the chances of them surviving and thriving is not great.  Most of our recent gerbils haven't made it much past two years. 

 

:grouphug:  :grouphug: :grouphug:  

 

Thank you for that input. It's helpful to know that it's not likely to be quick at this point. I think I'll call and see if the vet can see us in the morning. We are so lucky to have a local vet that has small animal specialists AND is open seven days a week nearby. They've been wonderful about everything we've seen them for. 

 

[Stacia]

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

[Word Nerd]

Why does freezing it require your DH's express permission?

 

It does sound like having it put to sleep might be the best solution.

[Reefgazer]

Freezer until spring or pet cremation service.

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

Why does freezing it require your DH's express permission?

 

Because he's a former city kid who's disgusted by them generally and considers them vermin. He would be horrified beyond belief if he found them anywhere near the food we eat. He doesn't even want to see them in the kitchen. He accepts that we have them as pets because it's his allergies that prevent us from having anything larger, but anything beyond that is asking too much of him. He does feel bad that the little guy is suffering. That's as far as his sympathy goes.

[hornblower]

I had a whole section of freezer for little bodies.... We have pet cremations here and the shelter here has a contract with one of the fancy pet crematoriums but hey charge a lot less if you do it through the shelter. I dropped off my cat and a bunch of rats all in one bunch for group cremation.

 

Euthanize and cremate.

 

Btw, if you do euthanize, you should not bury or throw in garbage. Here it's banned by law. The drugs stay in the animal and poison scavengers. We had a bunch of birds of prey get sick and die and the autopsy showed exposure to euthanasia drugs.

[Seasider]

Wrap the body in a washcloth, put it in a double plastic baggie and freeze it until the ground thaws and you can hold a proper funeral and burial.

 

I am grossed out by touching dead animals, too, so I wear gloves or otherwise find a way to handle them without touching them with bare hands. We have buried at least 5 hamsters in the past ten years. When they are near the end, we line a shoe box with tissues and have a "hospice box" and carry them everywhere. I once dropped dd off at piano and then went through the bank drive through managing the dying hamster in a hospice box in my lap. You gotta do what you gotta do, you know?

 

ETA: I see that your dh will not agree to the freezer treatment. Find someone who will - a kind neighbor, close friend or grandma who feels sorry for the poor dd.

Oh, this is a wonderful idea! So caring, not only for the little creature, but also for a child's tender heart (goodness, dang hormones, I am tearing up typing this). We have little critters that are getting up in years, and I have already started praying that our hearts would be prepared for their inevitable passing. Your post is so timely, the "hospice box" is perfect.

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

I had a whole section of freezer for little bodies.... We have pet cremations here and the shelter here has a contract with one of the fancy pet crematoriums but hey charge a lot less if you do it through the shelter. I dropped off my cat and a bunch of rats all in one bunch for group cremation.

 

Euthanize and cremate.

 

Btw, if you do euthanize, you should not bury or throw in garbage. Here it's banned by law. The drugs stay in the animal and poison scavengers. We had a bunch of birds of prey get sick and die and the autopsy showed exposure to euthanasia drugs.

 

In the past, when we've had pets euthanized, the vet has always "dealt with" the remains. I think the kids would be fine if we left him there. We're not actually that big on burial here, but I think the idea of them personally throwing their pets in the garbage isn't very appealing to them. What exactly does the vet do with the remains that are left with them? I guess I always assumed it was mass cremation. Are there other solutions? 

[Seasider]

That is what I always wished, too, but it happened less than half the time. I understand your dh's point, and I feel the same way. I will spend for a checkup, medication for something that can be improved/cured, but surgery for an elderly small pet is not in our budget, especially when it's so hard to tell exactly what is wrong with the little guys and the chances of them surviving and thriving is not great. Most of our recent gerbils haven't made it much past two years.

 

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

Ours are approaching 3 years and appear to still be very healthy and active, though they spend more time sleeping than they used to. We have a sibling pair, and I worry about the one that will be left behind when the first one goes. Any ideas to make that last alone stretch better for the survivor?

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

Ours are approaching 3 years and appear to still be very healthy and active, though they spend more time sleeping than they used to. We have a sibling pair, and I worry about the one that will be left behind when the first one goes. Any ideas to make that last alone stretch better for the survivor?

 

We lost one of a pair in the middle of last year (a terrible accident, he got out of the cage and chewed through a wire, it was awful), and I was terribly worried about the remaining cage mate (also his brother). It turned out completely fine. I don't know that the remaining gerbil even really noticed he was gone! It's been 7-8 months now, and we make sure the remaining buddy has lots to do (he gets lots of cardboard to chew and lots of out-of-cage adventure time, since he won't run in a wheel or spinner), and he's been fine. 

 

I suspect the remaining gerbil of this other pair will also be fine. He's not the brightest bulb in the bunch :lol: But we'll keep a careful eye on him and make sure he has lots to do and plenty of healthy treats. I think he'll be OK. I've heard stories about the left-behind gerbil pining away, but I've also read plenty of stories where the remaining gerbil lived on happily.

[GailV]

I had a whole section of freezer for little bodies.... 

 

Okay, I've been thinking for days, "Gosh, I really love Hornblower," and this comment just seals the deal.  Because we've had a stack of rats (individually wrapped, boxed, and labelled) in our chest freezer.  And every person who hears about this thinks it's absolutely crazy.  But you get it.  

 

(We usually adopt rescues, so we go through a lot of rats since they're older when we get them.)

 

(The boxes are the cardboard boxes they liked to sit in.  We box them up in the "final" box they had been using.  It works better in the freezer that way.)

[texasmama]

Oh, this is a wonderful idea! So caring, not only for the little creature, but also for a child's tender heart (goodness, dang hormones, I am tearing up typing this). We have little critters that are getting up in years, and I have already started praying that our hearts would be prepared for their inevitable passing. Your post is so timely, the "hospice box" is perfect.

(((hugs)))

 

Every time we lose a little pet, we all cry.  We lost our white mouse a few months back and have adopted a fat, furry hamster from the Humane Society, which is our dd's current small pet.  Dd knew when Cheddar the mouse was looking ill and thin what was happening and she prepared the hospice box.  Cheddar passed away a couple of days later during the night 

 

We always have a  nice funeral service and say a prayer and cry.  It is amazing how attached one can get to a small little animal.

[texasmama]

We lost one of a pair in the middle of last year (a terrible accident, he got out of the cage and chewed through a wire, it was awful), and I was terribly worried about the remaining cage mate (also his brother). It turned out completely fine. I don't know that the remaining gerbil even really noticed he was gone! It's been 7-8 months now, and we make sure the remaining buddy has lots to do (he gets lots of cardboard to chew and lots of out-of-cage adventure time, since he won't run in a wheel or spinner), and he's been fine. 

 

I suspect the remaining gerbil of this other pair will also be fine. He's not the brightest bulb in the bunch :lol: But we'll keep a careful eye on him and make sure he has lots to do and plenty of healthy treats. I think he'll be OK. I've heard stories about the left-behind gerbil pining away, but I've also read plenty of stories where the remaining gerbil lived on happily.

We had a sibling pair who lived together for about a year when one went violent on the other one so we had to separate them.  They lived the rest of their lives separately.  I think mostly small animals do okay alone.

[redsquirrel]

we have done the freezer and once, when it was our beloved cat, dh just went outside with an axe and gardening shovel and hacked up the ground until he had a grave.  He said it made him feel better to have something really hard to do.  I don't know how he did it, but he did.  It might have helped that he picked a corner in the flower garden, so the ground wasn't sod.

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

We always have a  nice funeral service and say a prayer and cry.  It is amazing how attached one can get to a small little animal.

 

I am going to be a dang wreck when our single guy (youngest DD's lone gerbil) goes. I hope he goes quickly, because if it's drawn out like this one is, I'm going to be in mourning for weeks. For a gerbil, I'm way over-attached! 

 

Our sick guy just had a bunch of what seemed to be seizures. His brother is right on top of him, cleaning his face, checking on him, laying next to him. Breaks my heart. 

[JFSinIL]

Since we have a large upright freezer in the basement, we freeze dead pets until burial.  I clear an entire shelf, (we freeze cats) and Kitty is wrapped lovingly in a towel, perhaps with a favorite toy, then into a trash bag and into a box and then on the shelf. 

 

We have quite the graveyard in the backyard, under a pine tree.  Each pet gets a decent burial, and I pour a concrete mix in a wooden frame over the site (to prevent critters digging up Kitty*), and when almost set write the pet's name in the cement. 

 

 

* or our Labrador.  Image the horror if that happened! :ohmy:

[SparklyUnicorn]

Because he's a former city kid who's disgusted by them generally and considers them vermin. He would be horrified beyond belief if he found them anywhere near the food we eat. He doesn't even want to see them in the kitchen. He accepts that we have them as pets because it's his allergies that prevent us from having anything larger, but anything beyond that is asking too much of him. He does feel bad that the little guy is suffering. That's as far as his sympathy goes.

 

Would he even know?  My husband never goes in the freezer. 

 

 

[Orthodox6]

Call a local vet and see if they can dispose of it with their other deceased pets.  Explain it's just a gerbil and you don't want it cremated or anything.

 

Or find an open bit of river or pond and have a viking funeral.  Let him go in style!

 

Cremation would be the inevitable where I live, if a pet is surrendered to the city or to a vet.

 

I rather like the Viking-style funeral, although poor little guy could get roasted via that method, until the vessel sinks.

[foxbridgeacademy]

We buried a baby bunny during winter once when I was a kid.  My mom poured boiling water on the ground and was able to make a shallow grave.  We put a big rock on it so the dog wouldn't dig the bunny up later.  I like PP's idea to cover with a mound of dirt but our dog would have had it uncovered or the local possum would have had a go at it.  Another option is to put it in a "shroud" (paper towels) and place it under some leaves in the forested area of a park.  The whole "return to nature" thing.  As for the viking funeral idea, we've tried that..... it takes a big fire to dispose of a little body.

[bibiche]

DS votes funeral pyre. Of course, he also suggests an osteological analysis afterward, but I am of the opinion that beloved pets should not become science projects.

I actually rather like the funeral pyre idea. 

[redsquirrel]

Call a local vet and see if they can dispose of it with their other deceased pets.  Explain it's just a gerbil and you don't want it cremated or anything.

 

Or find an open bit of river or pond and have a viking funeral.  Let him go in style!

 

How do you think a vet disposes of dead pets?  My dh is the son of a vet and part of his regular chores was to fill and shovel out the incinerator. If you drop your dead pet off at a vet it gets burned and you get charged. You pay more money if you say you want the ashes of your particular pet back because that requires the pet to get the incinerator to itself. And even then, I am not so sure how many places take the time to actually do that. Ashes are ashes.

 

and FYI, weird things you learn from vet's kid: goat stomachs don't burn.  Dh has put those things through the incinerator more than 3 times and they would not reduce to ash.  The rest of the goat burns just fine, only the stomach remains.

 

Obviously vets have different arrangements, I am sure some have animals shipped to special landfills, maybe? And I know many in cities have to have them shipped off to other incinerators, which costs even more. DH's dad had his own, but was in the country.

 

Honestly, if you drop off a hamster or gerbil off at a vet's place they might just toss it in the garbage after you leave.

 

and LOL, my dh never goes into the freezer either. He wouldn't know it was in there, but he also wouldn't care.

[Orthodox6]

Animals in the freezer would bring back unsettling memories for me. During my senior year of college, I rentd a room from a family, the father of which was a taxidermist. We student renters had permission to place groceries in a large chest freezer in the basement. I never felt quite the same about that privilege after opening the freezer one day to encounter the staring head of a gorilla.

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

Would he even know?  My husband never goes in the freezer. 

 

Probably not, but given how strongly he feels about it, that would be a HUGE betrayal of his trust. It would also involve having the kids lie to him about what we did with the body. I'm not cool with that.

 

And it would be just my luck that he'd come across before I could remember it was there and bury it. 

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

Animals in the freezer would bring back unsettling memories for me. During my senior year of college, I rentd a room from a family, the father of which was a taxidermist. We student renters had permission to place groceries in a large chest freezer in the basement. I never felt quite the same about that privilege after opening the freezer one day to encounter the staring head of a gorilla.

 

I honestly don't even think the fainting smiley is a strong enough response to that. I would be traumatized for life. 

[hornblower]

Okay, I've been thinking for days, "Gosh, I really love Hornblower," and this comment just seals the deal.  Because we've had a stack of rats (individually wrapped, boxed, and labelled) in our chest freezer.  And every person who hears about this thinks it's absolutely crazy.  But you get it.  

 

(We usually adopt rescues, so we go through a lot of rats since they're older when we get them.)

 

(The boxes are the cardboard boxes they liked to sit in.  We box them up in the "final" box they had been using.  It works better in the freezer that way.)

:wub: :blush:

Oh yeah, I get it. Some of our boys have been BIG too (way over a lb) so they had big boxes, and some were just little wee things & yeah, all lined up & labelled.  I was crying when I dropped the big batch of them off for cremation. I had a bunch that I had fostered & died in our care (elderly & ill ratties that didn't make it) and our own.

We had our choice of individual cremation & you can have the cremains back in an urn, or mass cremation. The mass cremains & any unclaimed cremains are spread on a meadow in a small farming community outside the city.  Other crematoria are apparently permitted to dump the ashes in a garbage dump. This place makes a big deal about the fact that their ashes are in a lovely meadow ;)

 

There was an investigative report a couple years ago about some local pet crematoria not doing proper individual cremations & mixing cremains etc. They sent in something that was trackable (I can't remember what now) and had a lab analyze the cremains after. The crematorium that our shelter uses is one of the ones that passed with flying colors. I'm not really into that & I don't want the ashes back but it was kind of nice knowing this is a good place.

 

Our vet sends to the same place but it's more expensive to do it through him.  Animal remains are not permitted in the garbage here. All carcasses go for cremation.

 

I have a ratty friend who organizes a yearly backyard bonfire thing and everyone apparently comes with their boxes but I've never gone. I'm a bit worried that the smell would get me.

 

Not to start a weird offshoot but I don't really get the ugh gross thing because most people's freezers are full of dead animals, kwim?  Even though we're vegan, my dogs are on raw so half my freezer is full of meat too.

Having a little shoebox labelled Sinclair peeking at me every time I get fruit for my smoothies just makes me smile and remember him.... 

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

:wub: :blush:

Oh yeah, I get it. Some of our boys have been BIG too (way over a lb) so they had big boxes, and some were just little wee things & yeah, all lined up & labelled.  I was crying when I dropped the big batch of them off for cremation. I had a bunch that I had fostered & died in our care (elderly & ill ratties that didn't make it) and our own.

We had our choice of individual cremation & you can have the cremains back in an urn, or mass cremation. The mass cremains & any unclaimed cremains are spread on a meadow in a small farming community outside the city.  Other crematoria are apparently permitted to dump the ashes in a garbage dump. This place makes a big deal about the fact that their ashes are in a lovely meadow ;)

 

There was an investigative report a couple years ago about some local pet crematoria not doing proper individual cremations & mixing cremains etc. They sent in something that was trackable (I can't remember what now) and had a lab analyze the cremains after. The crematorium that our shelter uses is one of the ones that passed with flying colors. I'm not really into that & I don't want the ashes back but it was kind of nice knowing this is a good place.

 

Our vet sends to the same place but it's more expensive to do it through him.  Animal remains are not permitted in the garbage here. All carcasses go for cremation.

 

I have a ratty friend who organizes a yearly backyard bonfire thing and everyone apparently comes with their boxes but I've never gone. I'm a bit worried that the smell would get me.

 

Not to start a weird offshoot but I don't really get the ugh gross thing because most people's freezers are full of dead animals, kwim?  Even though we're vegan, my dogs are on raw so half my freezer is full of meat too.

Having a little shoebox labelled Sinclair peeking at me every time I get fruit for my smoothies just makes me smile and remember him.... 

 

Well, I don't mind it particularly, but I will say that I don't think of an animal that died of sickness, that still has its fur, that possibly couldn't control its elimination toward the end, that hasn't been washed or cleaned, and that I loved and cuddled, etc. in the same way I think of the meat that was butchered, trimmed, and packaged for me to eat.

 

I mean, I love my little gerbil (oops, I mean, DD's little gerbil!) to pieces, but the other day he slipped and fell into a puddle of his own urine. His fur dried all sticking up straight, and he smelled like pee for a few days until he could get a few dust baths in. So not exactly how I think of the chicken breast I have in the freezer at the moment, KWIM? Then again, being vegan, chicken breast may gross you out as much as a urine-covered gerbil in with your food, so I don't know!

 

[TrixieB]

Ours are approaching 3 years and appear to still be very healthy and active, though they spend more time sleeping than they used to. We have a sibling pair, and I worry about the one that will be left behind when the first one goes. Any ideas to make that last alone stretch better for the survivor?

 

We give singletons (adoptees and those that were left alone after a cagemate's death) extra out-of-the cage playtime.  That seems to help. 

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

OK, well, if anyone is still reading, I need some advice now. Our little guy is perkier today, though certainly not his normal self. He tottered over to the cage door for some food when I opened it, he's still eagerly taking (and mostly eating, slowly) his favorite foods, he's sleeping with his brother (including over top of his brother, the same way they usually alternate doing), he's taking himself over to the corner to eliminate, he's doing a little bit of grooming, though not as much as usual. He's NOT drinking that I can see (even when I offer the bottle to him), or running on his wheel. He definitely looks thinner, and mostly sleeps, and totters around, but he IS up and around a bit. He had what looked like seizures after being handled a bit yesterday, but he hasn't had them since. All in all, he's improved, though not a lot, from two days ago. 

 

So would you take this guy to the vet today to end his suffering, or would you let him keep going as long as he wasn't laying flat and oblivious to everything around him? I truly don't know what to do. The last time I thought we had a hopeless case, I was all set to tell the vet to euthanize him, and thank goodness I didn't, because within a week he was up and around and had regained nearly full mobility. I don't think we'll get a miracle here, but I'd hate to take away this guy's last days unnecessarily.

 

Seriously, no more pets after this!  :crying:

 

Oh, and DH did agree that I can tuck him into the downstairs freezer when the time comes, as long as its somewhere he doesn't have to see it. I was floored! So we have a solution there at least, though I actually think the boiling water thing is a brilliant idea and might try that first.

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

The big question is what do you do with a horse... Don't ask. 

 

Oh, that's too sad. I would be a terrible farmer/rancher, as much as I long for a little farmlet of my own. I'm just way too soft-hearted to do what needs to be done with animals. 

[regentrude]

OK, well, if anyone is still reading, I need some advice now. Our little guy is perkier today, though certainly not his normal self. He tottered over to the cage door for some food when I opened it, he's still eagerly taking (and mostly eating, slowly) his favorite foods, he's sleeping with his brother (including over top of his brother, the same way they usually alternate doing), he's taking himself over to the corner to eliminate, he's doing a little bit of grooming, though not as much as usual. He's NOT drinking that I can see (even when I offer the bottle to him), or running on his wheel. He definitely looks thinner, and mostly sleeps, and totters around, but he IS up and around a bit. He had what looked like seizures after being handled a bit yesterday, but he hasn't had them since. All in all, he's improved, though not a lot, from two days ago. 

 

So would you take this guy to the vet today to end his suffering, or would you let him keep going as long as he wasn't laying flat and oblivious to everything around him? I truly don't know what to do. The last time I thought we had a hopeless case, I was all set to tell the vet to euthanize him, and thank goodness I didn't, because within a week he was up and around and had regained nearly full mobility. I don't think we'll get a miracle here, but I'd hate to take away this guy's last days unnecessarily.

 

He is eating. He is enjoying companionship.

I would give him a chance to recover.

 

Humans get sick. A person ill with the flu will be lethargic, sleep a lot, not want to eat, not want to shower, not want to exercise - and recover on his own within a week. Hope your gerbil get's over what ails him.

 

ETA: To answer the original question: if a burial in the ground was not feasible, you could honor the animal with a funerary pyre. Humans have used this to honor their heroes.

[SparklyUnicorn]

I wouldn't take him to a vet given the circumstances.  Well, truth be told I wouldn't take him to the vet for any reason.  Those critters just don't live long anyway.  So maybe he will recover.

 

I always threw the cage away and bought a new one if I got another animal.  I felt like I could not be sure there weren't some germs that could infect another critter. 

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

OK, DH said the same thing, but he also wouldn't take them to the vet no matter what, and offered to be the one to put the gerbil outside to freeze last night  :glare:  So I didn't trust that he didn't have an ulterior motive :lol: 

 

I thought about a funeral pyre, actually, because we could totally do that. I don't think my kids would get over watching one of their pets bodies' burn though. Again, we would make terrible farmers/ranchers!

 

[TrixieB]

OK, well, if anyone is still reading, I need some advice now. Our little guy is perkier today, though certainly not his normal self. He tottered over to the cage door for some food when I opened it, he's still eagerly taking (and mostly eating, slowly) his favorite foods, he's sleeping with his brother (including over top of his brother, the same way they usually alternate doing), he's taking himself over to the corner to eliminate, he's doing a little bit of grooming, though not as much as usual. He's NOT drinking that I can see (even when I offer the bottle to him), or running on his wheel. He definitely looks thinner, and mostly sleeps, and totters around, but he IS up and around a bit. He had what looked like seizures after being handled a bit yesterday, but he hasn't had them since. All in all, he's improved, though not a lot, from two days ago. 

 

So would you take this guy to the vet today to end his suffering, or would you let him keep going as long as he wasn't laying flat and oblivious to everything around him? I truly don't know what to do. The last time I thought we had a hopeless case, I was all set to tell the vet to euthanize him, and thank goodness I didn't, because within a week he was up and around and had regained nearly full mobility. I don't think we'll get a miracle here, but I'd hate to take away this guy's last days unnecessarily.

 

Seriously, no more pets after this!  :crying:

 

Oh, and DH did agree that I can tuck him into the downstairs freezer when the time comes, as long as its somewhere he doesn't have to see it. I was floored! So we have a solution there at least, though I actually think the boiling water thing is a brilliant idea and might try that first.

 

If he will not drink, try:

 

a dab of room-temperature plain applesauce (offer on your fingertip)

a bit of banana

a small piece of lettuce

 

He may well be in his last days.  Some years ago we had a pair of males.  One had a stroke and acted much as you describe.  He recovered but was visibly slowed down.  A few weeks later he had another stroke and died an hour or so later.