Keeping Remains Safe

[FelisCatus]

This question might be better suited elsewhere but the answers would help others who have had their kitty cats pass away so I am posting it here.
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My kitty cats remains were returned to us today (cremated) in a wooden box and a clay paw print.

Is there anything I need to do to make sure they are kept safe for as long as humanly possible?

I am reading some conflicting information, about not handling the clay pawprint with my hands as the oils could damage it and also to put it in an air tight container as air will dry the clay out and crack it.
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I would definitely not be happy if some bugs or something got inside the wooden box and into the remains or if the clay paw print cracked.... it’s all I have left of my sweet angel.

Thank you.

 

[Gizmobius]

My childhood dog passed back in 2011 and my parents had her cremated. Her remains are also in a sealed plastic baggy within the wooden box for an extra layer of protection. She's been sitting in the same spot for the last seven years and everything seems to be fine. If you want even more protection, you could use some clear tape to go around the outside of the box to really seal it better. My cat Willow was also cremated at the end of 2016 and sits atop my dresser and everything's safe and sound there too. I believe if ashes are kept sealed tightly they can last for a very very long time, far after we ourselves are gone too!

 

[Norachan]

Do you know what kind of clay the paw print is in?

The most obvious way to keep anything made of clay intact is to have it fired. You could have a bisque firing, to 1260C, and this would mean that the clay couldn't be pressed out of shape or crack but would still be porous. If you wanted to you could have a second, glaze firing after that and have the paw print sealed with a clear glaze.

Art colleges or art departments in high schools would probably fire it for you. Something small like a paw print would fit really easily into a kiln.

There are some low firing clays, Fimo and other polymer clays, that you can fire in an oven.

You need to make sure what kind of clay you have before doing any firings.

 

[di and bob]

Sealing the paw print in an airtight container should do it, preferably clear so you could see it. As long as the ashes are in a plastic bag, they should last forever too. Sealing whatever container they are in with a clear tape would help.
I have two paw prints of my beloved Chrissy that she embedded in our fresh laid concrete by my garden shed. I was upset at the time, but now they are a treasured reminder of her physical presence in my life.....

 

[Mamanyt1953]

If you are really, really worried about insects, a tiny bit of Sevin dust in the box will keep out almost all of them. HOWEVER...Sevin dust is very toxic, so real ALL instructions carefully, and only use a tiny bit. That said, I have friends who have had their pets' remains in wooden boxes for years with no issues. I really think that you are safe.

 

[solomonar]

Maybe making a polymer/FIMO replica?

Kitchen vacuum bags (if you find bags large enough) may prevent any insect to enter the box.

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3D filming and then write the film on 3 Millenial DVDs - aka M-Disk (only some DVD writers accept Millenial Disks, as far as I know). Then place each M-Disk in a different building, at some miles distance one to each other. This redundancy-based method is definitely the most advanced method to keep something very long time, except distributed ledger technology which I guess it may be far to laborious to use in this case.

M-Disk is "eternal" lasting media (DVD or Blue-ray - not cross-compatible!!). More details on wiki.

A conventional 2D film version or photo show can be exposed on a digital photoframe. Although, to be honest, I see a high risk of negative mental impact in doing so.

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Anyway, no material matter lasts for ever. Not even the stars. Only Love is eternal.

 

[Antonio65]

I have a few wooden boxes for the ashes of my kittens, safely stored in a closet.
I never thought, even for a moment, that they could be at risk from bugs or insects.
The ashes are in ziploc plastic bags, visible. The bag is inside the wooden little box with a brass lock. There's enough room inside the box to store the ashes and some small items, like the kitty's collar, or another plastic bag with some whiskers.
This is the kind of box I have been given with every cat that I lost...

Probably we could consider checking the plastic bags every now and then, to see if they are breaking down and replace them before they crack or leak.

We don't use to have clay paw prints over here, at least that I know of, so I couldn't help you on this, but having it protected with a layer of transparent enamel could prevent it from cracking or deteriorating.

I think that if the house is clean and healthy, no problems should arise for years to come.

My worst concern is what will happen to my precious boxes when I'm dead... Will they be discarded as waste? I just can't stand this thought

 

[GaryT]

The clay paw print in a nice idea. My vet surprised me with this card that came a little after Oliver was gone. It made me cry when I saw it. I couldn't control my emotions. Very touching. It is very hard to lose a dear friend. It will be a year on May 22nd and it is still hard to look back at photos. I miss him terrible.

 

[epona]

I have a few wooden boxes for the ashes of my kittens, safely stored in a closet.
I never thought, even for a moment, that they could be at risk from bugs or insects.
The ashes are in ziploc plastic bags, visible. The bag is inside the wooden little box with a brass lock. There's enough room inside the box to store the ashes and some small items, like the kitty's collar, or another plastic bag with some whiskers.
This is the kind of box I have been given with every cat that I lost...

View attachment 274199

Probably we could consider checking the plastic bags every now and then, to see if they are breaking down and replace them before they crack or leak.

We don't use to have clay paw prints over here, at least that I know of, so I couldn't help you on this, but having it protected with a layer of transparent enamel could prevent it from cracking or deteriorating.

I think that if the house is clean and healthy, no problems should arise for years to come.

My worst concern is what will happen to my precious boxes when I'm dead... Will they be discarded as waste? I just can't stand this thought

Put it in your will that their ashes should be buried with you, if you are going to be buried, or with your ashes if you are opting for cremation - your ashes could be stored/interred together or scattered together, whichever you like.

Edit to add (I have worked in funeral industry, and this is not an unusual question - just make sure to put in your will what you want to happen, their physical remains can be with your physical remains forever if that is what you want, and if you make arrangements for it to be so)

 

[GaryT]

That is a good idea, epona. I didn't cremate. I brought my baby home and he is buried on the edge of the yard with a flower bed over him (I wanted to make sure nothing would dig him up so I put a large flat rock over his box and then built a flower bed) I have a marker for him there and I go and sit beside him in my swing. I really miss him.

 

[Antonio65]

Put it in your will that their ashes should be buried with you, if you are going to be buried, or with your ashes if you are opting for cremation

Unfortunately, here where I leave this can't be done. For a reason that escapes me, it isn't allowed to us to be buried or cremated along with our pets' remains.
Hopefully things might change before it's my time.

 

[epona]

Unfortunately, here where I leave this can't be done. For a reason that escapes me, it isn't allowed to us to be buried or cremated along with our pets' remains.
Hopefully things might change before it's my time.

Yeah, depending upon where in the world you are, there are various regulations in place - here it cannot be done in a licensed cemetary for humans, but can be done on private land (that either you own or with permission of the landowner) OR if your relatives collect your ashes from cremation and also have the ashes of your cats they can be scattered in the same place.

 

[Antonio65]

Yeah, depending upon where in the world you are, there are various regulations in place - here it cannot be done in a licensed cemetary for humans, but can be done on private land (that either you own or with permission of the landowner) OR if your relatives collect your ashes from cremation and also have the ashes of your cats they can be scattered in the same place.

Over here in Italy, burials can exclusively be done in a cemetery, and all cemeteries are publicly owned, by the town council. No human burials are allowed outside a cemetery.
Pets cannot be buried within a cemetery for humans. In some towns or cities, pets cannot even be buried on private lands. The cremation is the only option in certain places. In the city where I live a small pet can be buried on private land. I have three burials in my yard, and a few urns indoor.
And as far as I know, over here human ashes cannot be scattered or kept in homes.

 

[epona]

Yeah, I am reading up on the restrictions on this in your country and they are quite specific about what is allowed and what isn't, far more so than where I am.

 

[FelisCatus]

Woah.. for some reason I didn't get any notifications about all the replies despite having the thread on Watched. I'll read them and get back to all of you (thanks!) after I find out what's happening with this Himalayan/Persian cat that someone wants to euthanize...

Help! Healthy Himalayan In Danger Of Euthanasia In Quebec

 

[Antonio65]

Woah.. for some reason I didn't get any notifications about all the replies despite having the thread on Watched.

Same here, I found your last posts only because I checked manually.

 

[Antonio65]

Yeah, I am reading up on the restrictions on this in your country and they are quite specific about what is allowed and what isn't, far more so than where I am.

Actually I said something inaccurate.
There are cases when a burial can be done outside a cemetery. It's the case of important ecclesiastics (cardinals, bishops) who can be buried inside the churches or cathedrals where they served.
All popes are buried within St. Peter's Cathedral, for instance, but again, Vatican City isn't Italy, it's a small State inside our territory.
Or kings and princes who can be buried in some particular churches.
Or important people who can have a mausoleum on their own, like Guglielmo Marconi, the inventor of the radio, who is buried in a mausoleum within what once was his family home, now a museum.
What I said yesterday applies to normal people.

Anyway, I find British (and Irish) graveyards (and headstones) so romantic...
Sory for the off-topic, FelisCatus .

 

[solomonar]

As far as I remember, 1.5 m depth grave is required from sanitary reasons, in case of pet corps, in my country and I suspect this can be seen as a rule of thumb whenever no specific legal provisions exist.

We also allow private pet cemeteries. But they are commercial entreprises.

In my opinion, vets an municipalities shall be consulted in such cases, since legislation seems to vary quite a lot across jurisdictions.

 

[Antonio65]

As far as I remember, 1.5 m depth grave is required from sanitary reasons, in case of pet corps, in my country and I suspect this can be seen as a rule of thumb whenever no specific legal provisions exist.

We also allow private pet cemeteries. But they are commercial entreprises.

In my opinion, vets an municipalities shall be consulted in such cases, since legislation seems to vary quite a lot across jurisdictions.

I could never dig that deep, 1.5 meters is a lot, really!
Whenever I dug a grave for a small pet, the deepest I reached was about 35 cm, and I found it deep enough.

We do have some private pet cemeteries, very well kept and run, but they cost you a fortune.

One of the last time I had to dig a grave for a cat was April last year. One of the cats of my colony had been run over by a car. So I did what I had to do, I called the local police to have the poor body removed and taken care of.
They didn't show up on that day, so I called them again the next day.
They didn't show up either.
I called an official at the town council and explained him the situation. He promised me to take care of it on that very day. Nobody came.
I also sent photos of the spot, so that they would have no excuse for not finding the cat... nothing happened.
So, after nearly 10 days I decided to take the situation in my hands, got out of home with a shovel, went to the spot where the poor cat still was, moved it to a green area and started digging.
It was an out-of-sight spot, I thought, but just when I was going to cover the grave, the State police drove by, they saw me and stopped. They came over, asked me what I was doing (it is illegal to bury animals on public spaces), I explained them what had happened, I showed them my phone with the call records, the emails and the photo sent to the town council.
I knew they would have reported me and/or fined...
It was the day before Easter last year. They looked each other and said "Keep doing what you were doing, and have a happy Easter!"

 

[solomonar]

Antonio65

I could never dig that deep, 1.5 meters is a lot, really!
Whenever I dug a grave for a small pet, the deepest I reached was about 35 cm, and I found it deep enough.

It really depends on the wildlife around. I did not look into precise (scientific) references, just took it as it is.

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Here the best thing to do is to call a vet. They all have contracts with specialized companies. One may decide to cremate with all other animals (this maybe some 10-20 Eur) or to go for a separate cremation, which is more expensive (I do not know how much).

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Here the private pet cemeteries lend small plots by year (some 50 EUR - the ones I know) - the downside is that if it is not paid one year, they can re-sell the plot. I do not know if they really do it (I suspect they dont).

It is so cheap because the land is near a heavy traffic lane, many factories around. I guess there are similar places all over the world.