Has anyone brought a buried pet back to the UK?

[woollyjumperseason]

Hi bit of a sensitive subject. Our cat died last year and we buried her at our home in France. Unknown to us at the time we have had to move back to the UK. We are now looking at how to bring her to be buried in our new home. Has anyone done this before. It might be easier to cremate her but not sure if that's possible as she has been buried for a year or so.
Thanks in advance

What have I just read. Gosh, cat owners are weird

OP - don’t do this.

perhaps look at it like this- she is currently buried in her territory , she’s in the garden she patrolled and kept safe from “invaders”. She’s beneath her hunting ground. If you leave her where she is, she will be forever in her territory that she knew so well, probably better than you did!

If you had been able to ask her, I bet she’d have wanted to spend eternity in her own territory. Not being upheaved to a garden she doesn’t know.

I'm sorry for your loss, OP.

I think you have to do what is best for you.

Prince Philip was entombed in the Royal Vault of St George's Chapel untl Elizabeth died, then he was moved to join her in the King George VI Memorial Chapel. George VI himself spent several years in that vault before the chapel named after him was finished. My point is that moving remains can be done and often is for royals.

I would get DCat cremated in France, if bringing her home is what you opt for. Doing so will negate all the biocontrol problems you'd otherwise face.

CatOfHate was more bothered by being away from me than he was about moving territories. He moved to my house a couple of months after I did, left with my mum who we'd both been living with for several years, and he settled in my house within hours. Prior to him moving, he'd searched for me and cried and shunned my mother because she was the wrong human, despite being in his familiar territory. No two cats are the same and OP knows her cat best.

You can bring bones but the skeleton needs to be totally clean.

To those posters pointing out that we sometimes exhume and move human remains, and that there are companies who exhume pets- I think there is a big difference between doing this within the UK, and between countries. It should be obvious that an animal that has been deceased in the ground for a year could present hazards to health. Plants (including food stuffs) are closely monitored at borders and there are many things you can’t bring into the UK under these rules. Given that there are such strict rules around things like vegetables and cheese, I would expect there to be significant red tape and cost around importing a whole, long-deceased pet. The obvious thing to do is have the cat cremated and bring those remains back.

As I stated above there is a valid process to bring exhumed pets back and I was looking to see if anyone had done it for advice

Oh right @woollyjumperseason. You didn’t state that- you said that there are companies that can bring the deceased pet but you didn’t mention they would do pets that had been exhumed. (I can believe that they would transport a pet which had been appropriately stored after death but am surprised they would allow people to bring a pet which has been deceased for longer and where the body has not been preserved in any way).

Oh well, hope you find a way to close this chapter that feels right to you.

I had a pet rabbit who was buried for a few months, then dug up by a fox. There wasn’t much left, but what there was wasn’t very pleasant.

I second PP who suggested spending the money on therapy.

You laid her to rest. Let her rest 💛

A bit of a bizarre argument to say because some senior Royals have been moved about a bit due to protocol (Phillip couldn’t be in that tomb before Queen Elizabeth so his first burial was always temporary until she joined him), it means it’s fine to dig up a buried pet in another country, a year after death and move their remains across borders.

I can just imagine the conversation at customs and using that Royal example as inspiration for such an mad idea.

OP - let the cat rest in peace. I think it would be way too upsetting to do what you’re thinking.

Bring a spoonful of top soil back with you.
Remember her where you loved her. Leave her be.

Prince Philip was entombed in the Royal Vault of St George's Chapel untl Elizabeth died, then he was moved to join her in the King George VI Memorial Chapel. George VI himself spent several years in that vault before the chapel named after him was finished. My point is that moving remains can be done and often is for royals.

In a vault, in coffins designed for the purpose. They weren't dug up out of the ground and their decomposed bodies moved.

Richard III was where he always had been; the car park was put on top of his burial site.

Yes, I was thinking maybe OP could take a cutting of the plant growing nearest to her cat's burial spot. But, taking a bit of soil is a good idea too.

OP, as a huge animal lover myself and a very spiritual person who believes in life after death, honestly your cat isn't there. Her spirit, her animas, is happy and free somewhere, I strongly believe. But, even if you're not a believer in the afterlife, she can live on in your memory.
To me what happens to the body is just to bring us comfort. More a symbolism, not actually 'them' iyswim.
I honestly couldn't consider exhuming a body - of any species. It would feel disrespectful, and just unpleasant.
But, I'm so sorry for your loss. Losing a beloved furry friend or family member is so hard I know (been there loads) Maybe you could do some sort of little memorial after the move, to give you peace? You take lots of care 🐾💐

I think you need to leave your cat where she is. She is at peace there.

the only circumstance I’d consider this would be if I heard the site was about to be built over and there was a chance she would be accidentally exhumed. That said that will probably be the case everywhere eventually but hopefully not for a long time

Transporting soil and cuttings from the EU to here will be far more of an administrative nightmare than transporting cremated bones. There are rules about transporting anything biological that might carry pests or diseases. Cremated bones are disease-free.

Oh, I didn't know that transporting plants would be tricky. I know I once brought some plants over from England to Ireland on the train and ferry. Nobody batted an eye. But, that's the common travel area of course.
Maybe since Brexit, EU to UK is different?

Since Brexit, you need tests and paperwork to send plants from GB to NI.

Ah, OK. My plant transport was pre-Brexit. Blooming Brexit.

Not-blooming Brexit, given that you can't transport plants any more.

I'll get my coat...

I see what you did there! Raised at least one much-needed smile x

Please don't disturb her. Just let her rest in peace.

Sorry OP but I agree with other posters. Leave your poor cat to rest in peace where she is. I love my pets with all my heart, they are my family (I have no close family) but I wouldn't dream of doing this, it's a ridiculous notion.

Prince Philip was entombed in the Royal Vault of St George's Chapel untl Elizabeth died, then he was moved to join her in the King George VI Memorial Chapel. George VI himself spent several years in that vault before the chapel named after him was finished. My point is that moving remains can be done and often is for royals

They use special lead lined coffins though, which are ‘suitable’ for all that faff. They don’t bury them in cardboard boxes, dig them up and move them around. Huge difference.

Honestly, this whole thing is giving off Pet Sematary vibes. We have a much beloved household cat (is my adult child’s but it is the ‘family pet’ and I consider it to be my grandchild🤣), and when they die I honestly think we will all be in therapy as we love them so much, but still, this just seems unhealthy.

I can once had a heartbreaking conversation with parents. They went to a developing country for work, their older teenage child went and died there and was buried. They thought the work would be permanent, then after a decade or so were ‘reassigned’ and employer withdrew support. They wouldn’t leave their child so quit and became ‘stuck’ (had enough money that staying permanently was not a problem residency wise but at that point they wanted to return to home country). I recall cremation was not an option for them per religion. That’s the only time I’ve ever suggested exhuming as an option as they were so very unhappy and it was such a shit situation.

OP, personally, I think you should just move forward with your lovely memories. If you just can’t do this, then I’d have your cat cremated before being sent over as I really can’t imagine you will want to receive your beloved cat in the state it will be in after being exhumed, and that just seems so disrespectful to them.