My darling 17 year old cat has peacefully died in her sleep but....

[spudmasher]

I don't know what to do with her....
It's Bank Holiday.
Are you allowed to bury cats in your garden?
I guess I'll call the vets tomorrow and ask?
At the moment she is in a box in the garage....
What can I expect? So sad and this is just painful to think about.
Thanks in advance for any advice/ experience.
I haven't got it in me to google......I'm hoping MN will be more sympathetic!

both Old cat and his sister resided in the freezer for a few days after their deaths

• wrap in a pillow case, then in several layers of placcy bacs sealed with tape in a separate drawer

old cat was buried under his favourite tree when the ground thawed.
he has a big flat rock on his grave that the new cats sunbathe on.

At the moment I'm waiting for compost cat to die.
Its only a matter of days - she has late stage kidney failure
but as we only expected her to last a few hours before Christmas, she's done well.
She will be buried in the garden next to where we found her.

Is compost cat the very poorly stray you found and brought in? If so, you've given her a happy few months she wouldn't had had otherwise and a calm and loving place to die. I was actually thinking about her last week.

(Sorry for the hijack, OP.)

So sorry.
I have a small section of garden where I've buried my cat and 2 guinea pigs. There's a plant on top, and large pebbles around that.
It's a huge sorrow when this happens, because thy are such a big part of your life, but now I can look at my little memorial garden and remember how very happy they made me.

cozie
yes.

spudmasher
pick a good burial spot.
Old cat died six years ago and we still sit and chat to him - he'd been with us for 19 years after all.

No worries cozie!
TalkinPeace, I hope your rescue cat has a peaceful end and well done for giving a loving home.

It's so quiet and tidy at home without the cat. I'm missing the sound of her feet on the laminate floor and her morning miaows. So quiet.

I think I'm going to get another cat in the autum after the summer holidays. It's just not a home without one.

Any experiences of getting another cat? I'm going to want to wait a while.

Cozie - recent picture on my profile.
She's on her way back down hill, but on a comfy sofa.

spud
Getting replacement cats
its tricky
when old cat died we were so torn up we got rescue kittens too soon without thinking and ended up having to hand one of them back

you can never replace what you had

when Zing dies it will rip us all up even though she was nearly dead when we found her only 4 months ago
my stupid lump cat who we have had for 4 years is nowhere near as much of a 'character' as her
DDs cat utterly ignores DH and DS and does not 'do' laps or cuddles or proper company

IMHO - wait
the right cat will turn up at the right time

She looks, despite her ill health, like a happy cat. Well one Talkin.

*done

Sympathies.
One of ours died suddenly at only 10 years old a couple of weeks ago.

I also randomly burst into tears for about 2 weeks - esp the week anniversary 'this time last week' etc.
I am still very sad but less tearful.

We had him cremated as I couldn't face him being dug up by foxes.

We still have his brother but I also want to get another kitten as just having one seems so quiet.

JKS sorry to hear about your cat. The quietness is most odd and unexpected.
Talkin...beautiful picture. Thank you for telling us Zing's story.
This is what I love about cats. Their independence, resilience and the fact that they choose who they hang out with ultimately!
I know no cat will replace my lovely Ruby, but I'd love to get to know another individual!

DDs not good today..talking a lot about her, which has to be healthy and luckily I've felt a bit stronger today and able to respond without blubbing.

Spudmasher, it's sensible to wait but you may find one ends up with you unexpectedly anyway, they often seem to sense where there is a cat shaped hole and fill it. Our neighbours seem to have always acquired their cats that way.

Spud- thanks. Not many people I know truly seem to get the sense of loss I feel.
Luckily my kids are young and more resilient than me.
The changing from 'cats' to 'cat' still gets me every time.

You never know - you could be Dudleyed any day.

Dudley always seems to get mentioned on these threads!

He turned up wedged under my car bonnet 3 weeks before my 18 year old girl had to be put to sleep

At the time it was really not what we needed (old girl was quite doddery plus we also had - and still have - another very old cat who is 17 & blind & does not handle changes very well). However Duds did make me laugh during the first few very sad weeks after losing old girl, and he has grown into the loveliest cat, very affectionate & playful. I still don't think I would have actively chosen to go out & get a new kitten, as he was very hard work and very destructive, plus he hassled the old boy many many times a day and was too boisterous for him really. But we had saved him from a nasty end and the coincidence of his arrival was too great for us not to keep him.

OP I also had my old girl cremated and it was sad having to go back to pick her ashes up. However the staff at the vets were really kind and they even sent me a lovely condolence card which I still have. I am blinking awaytears now just thinking about her!

Yes I'm not looking forward to that bit....I'd planned to sort the garden today and clear a patch for the ashes and a new magnolia despite sore back. I've chosen a magnolia stellata. Lovely delicate white flowers like Ruby's paws and tail tip. But as soon as I got out there it decided to rain. I took it as a sign and retreated swiftly to drink tea and watch Disney rubbish with DDs.

I'd love to be 'Dudleyed'. I've attracted strays before but they've never stayed more than a month, probably because ruby scared them off. One massive cat, the size of a bloody small pony. One skinny ginger one, I imaginatively named 'Skinger'.

Maybe then........

So sorry for your loss OP

Thank you, Wishyouwould.
Everyone is so kind here. It's really helped.