How To Bury Your Deceased Cat

When it’s time to say goodbye, cat owners must decide how to bury their beloved cat. Here you will find various options for how and where you can bury your cat.

When the day of farewell has come, cat owners have to think about how they want to have their pet buried. However, since these hours are already difficult enough, one should inform oneself earlier about the preferred farewell. Anyone who takes in an animal assumes responsibility for the animal – for its life, but also for a dignified end to life.

Bury The Cat In Your Own Backyard

It is generally allowed to bury the cat in your own garden – as long as you do not live in a water or nature reserve. The following guidelines must be observed:

• However, if you are not the owner of the property, the landlord must agree.
• A distance of at least two meters to the property line must be maintained.
• The grave must be at least 50 centimeters deep.

It is also advisable to wrap the animal’s body in easily rotting material, such as a woolen blanket, towels, or newspaper. If you are unsure, you should ask the responsible municipal administration.

Please note: It is forbidden to bury your pet on public lands such as in a park or wooded area. Non-compliance can result in high fines.

Leave The Deceased Cat At The Vet

If your cat was put to sleep at the vet’s, you can usually leave the body thereafter saying goodbye in peace. Even if your vet euthanized the cat at your home, they will offer to take the body with them. The vet then has him taken to a rendering facility. The one-off costs are around €20.

Final Rest In The Animal Cemetery

If you can’t or don’t want to bury your cat in your own garden, you can lay it to rest in a pet cemetery. You can usually choose between a collective grave or an individual grave. Here you can also visit your beloved pet later and get to know people to whom their pet meant just as much. Prices start at the pet cemeteries from an amount of €150 per year, depending on the type of cat grave.

Ashes To Ashes: The Animal Crematorium

In an animal crematorium, you can have the cat’s body cremated and placed in a beautiful urn. What you do with the ashes after the cremation is up to you. Many keepers then bury the urn in the garden or keep it as a special memento.

When cremation the cat you can choose between:

• Individual cremation: cat’s identity is assured, and ashes are given to the owner in an urn; depending on the urn, the costs start at around €120.
• Simple cremation: several animals are cremated together, the ashes are buried in a communal grave; the costs are around 50 to 100€.