When Our Ratties Pass....

Fins us on Amazon
Advertise with us
Shop with us on Ebay
The Rat Shack Forum

Help Support The Rat Shack Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
M

mercurydust

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 23, 2008
Messages
848
Location
Concord,North Carolina, United States
In no way am I trying to be morbid or offensive, but I am just curious. I was just wondering, person to person, what some of you do with you departed ratkids? I mean...to me they are like my children and if I could afford it I would have them cremated and put into an urn (spelling?) But then in 40 years I would be some crazy old woman with a very large and odd collection of tiny vases.... :stickpoke: In the past, I have made homemade, coffins, I guess you would say...and given my dearly departed fur babies a proper irish burial. My very first rat and probably the best friend I ever had, was laid to rest in my favorite tin lunch box that I carried around like a purse in highschool. An entire corner of the yard was devoted to my Jasper. I had always had single rats as pets in the past, and now I have 8! What I am scared of, more than losing any of them...is losing too many. I truly admire those of you who had lost more than one rat in a week, and in other cases two in one day. That has to be so hard...and I know my Lily Bear is approaching the two year mark....I don't even want to think about it! I know I will be able to get through it...but I also know it is not going to be easy and in the end, I will do what is in the best interest of my sweeties.
 
I always do a nice little burial in around the same area of my yard. I say my goodbyes and thats that. I am all alone in the rat world, so I'm normally alone in this process...I guess I try not to extend it out too much so the neighbors don't think I'm too crazy.

When ratties pass it is very difficult. I find some more difficult then others, but somehow all of us rattie owners are able to move on.
 
when are fancy passed we put her in a shoebox size with her favorite toys(her bell ball) some money(to help other ratties go to that special place, in case they did not have any) (thanks to lilspaz68 for this idea),some food(her favorite kind), and said are goodbye's and berried her in are backyard.

and yes it is always
 
We bury ours in our angel garden. In the past, that garden was quite small... it has grown since then. We keep joking that one day, the whole front yard will be the angel garden.
 
All of my furkids are cremated (it is not cheap) and when I pass on I will be cremated and mixed with my babies. Totally morbid put hey you have to have a plan. I just like the idea that no matter where I go they get to go with me. I am a mourner I spend time with them after they pass crying (they are usually soaked with my tears) and loving them I do this usually till the warmth has left them and then I put them away. The bf thinks it is gross to kiss their little lifeless bodies but it makes me feel at peace because they look so peaceful.
 
I had a large group cremeted together, and their ashes were burried in a marked grave at godmothers. I have another large group that has passed away in the last year (bodies in the freezer, waiting until the ground thaws) that will be cremate together and burried ....

I got them cremeted as a group because it made sense as they had lived together ... it was also affordable where individually it would not have been. I don't own property and wouldn't want their bodies disturbed so I decided upon cremation.

Of course, I had arranged them in the cardboard box with fleece tucked around them, etc.
 
Most of my rats who have passed are buried in my backyard. Last year I ran out of places to bury them so those who have passed since then are buried where I work. Landfills are surrounded by what is called "attenuation" land. This is land that will never be allowed to be used for any purpose. Not only are my rats buried there but both of my dogs who've passed away, Sophie and Maya. For my dogs I picked out a nice spot at the top of hill with a tree growing near by and I got my equipment operator to bring over a great big boulder to set near to it. I actually feel more secure about the pets buried at work than at home because I know they can never be touched. (At least not in my lifetime.) Whereas at home I am renting - so nothing is forever or for sure. I planted a rose garden over their remains in the hopes that even if I move away that section of the yard will not be dug up, but who knows for sure? I used to own a house up in Midland and the lady who moved in after me dug up my rose garden to plant tomatoes! :(
 
Well since Eli will be leaving this world on Saturday, I figured I'd share. Teddy and Nanuk are both cremated and Eli will be too. They all share the same urn (I made the urn in Grade 10; months before I got Eli and Teddy...how's that for morbid), in individual baggies with their names written (by me) on the outside. My first rat Sasha, was thrown in the garbage...I have never gotten over that, and that is part of why the SkinKids will be going up for adoption in a month or two (I'll post more on this later). Cremation is very expensive but we must always have preperations ready for when our ratbabies cross, they are part (if not all) of our world.
 
We have buried a few in our backyard. I have a few right now in the freezer. When our dog passes(she is 15 1/2 years old) we plan to bury our dog and the deceased rats at a freinds farm where our first dog is buried.

Ann
 
oO keeping rat bodies in a freezer... well thats a new one to me... think i'll avoid it though lol.

My last rat was buried in the garden above my dog. I figure that i don't want my mums garden to be over-run with animal's, that one day someone will dig up a part of the garden and find some scary stuff.. so i will probably pay to get mine cremated.
Harvey was laid in his rectangle nest that was his bed for a long time on a bed of hay, and then was covered over in hay/straw and was laid to rest in the garden.

My friend has buried rats in plantpots and kept them in her house.......................... yeah......... i think thats a bit err, wrong? I'd never want to re-pot my plants again if i was her. But i can understand burying ashes together or making a memorial garden (harvey and dexter's corner will be beautiful this year). I like the idea of Urn's aswell :)
 
The more I think of it, the more I like the idea of getting them cremated and then keeping all of their ashes together in the same urn. I live in an apartment so their is no place to burry them around here where they won't be disturbed. I burried Jackie Boy over at Matt's parents house, because they have a very large piece of land...but I found out this summer that the land is prone to flooding, and I don't like the thought of the waters being able to disturb the area-I would have a panic attack if it were to flood and the box I put my little one were to go floating by the porch...oh god.
How much does cremation usually run? It can't be as much as it is to cremate a person.....
 
For one rat it runs me $75.00. At first I would have them done as they passed but that became to expensive so I will wait and do them all together so hopefully they will give me a deal. I don't care if they are sepearted they lived in the same cage together so it is only fitting they remain together.

I did not like leaving them in the freezer at first but it is a little easier for me now since I put them in this cute little purple lunch box thing and everyone in the house knows not to touch it.
 
My first two rats are buried in my mom's backyard. It was important for me and for my little sister because she saw them as hers as well. Mom wouldn't let us bury any more of our kids back there with Templeton and Gloria so we have 6 kids in the freezer right now. They all have their own box with fleece around them.
We've been thinking of what we wanted to do, find a place and bury them or have them cremated? I'm thinking maybe cremating them might be the best thing. Mostly because I'm afraid we won't bury them in deep enough and another animal will dig them up. Our vet told us where they were pts that if another animal ate them then that animal would either die or would be harmed because of the stuff that would still be in our girls when they were put down.
So that's another worry, I don't want to hurt another animal.
 
All of my boys have to be cremated because I live in a condominium complex and burial on the grounds is strictly prohibited.

Cremation here is not expensive. I pay about $20 per rat and that includes burial in, what my vet says is, a really nice cemetery which belongs to the company which cremates them.

For myself, I love being able to bury my babies' ashes but I am not such a fan of retaining them in an urn. It makes me feel as if I am imprisoning them when they could be out in nature playing in, and being a part of, the grass, trees, and flowers.

If I were a rat soul.... I would be bored to death on someone's bookcase, dresser, etc. But that's just me.

Bury me out where the wild things are. :bunnydance: :heart: :cheeky:
 
My first 3 rats were taken to the vet and put to sleep on seperate occassions.

If I recall correctly, I paid 15$ for the entire process, and didn't get the body/ashes back, although they said it would be cremated.

As for my new boys, I have bought "coffins" for them (nice boxes from the dollar store), but I always figured I would do the same with them when the time comes considering I dont have a yard to bury them.
 
After a rat passes at home or is pts, I lay them down on fleece on their side, put a couple of lab blocks behind their back and yummy cheerios in front, with a few pennies and small change as well. This is the pay the Ferryman to cross the River Styx and extra change for wee ones who never got any pennies and are stuck on the bank waiting to cross. Then I wrap them up in their fleece, tuck it into a paper sandwich bag, then a plastic bag. I remove the plastic when its time to bury them. Then they go into a pretty gift box from the dollar store. And into my freezer. I have about 8 in there right now, waiting to go. I then get them up to my sister'sfarm/property eventually where my BIL digs a nice big hole with his heavy machinery and we bury them at the top of this amazing hill beside my Rat Rock. :)

My first 15 or so rats were buried at my mom's but it was hard digging her soil with my crappy back.

Then I do up my memorial and cry and remember and heal. :heart:
 
My cremation for Eli will run me about $150. I don't know where anyone else gets theirs done but mine go through my vet and that's what they told me, I never realized it was so much considering when I got Teddy and Nanuk done I was working at the place so it was free.
 
lilspaz68 said:
After a rat passes at home or is pts, I lay them down on fleece on their side, put a couple of lab blocks behind their back and yummy cheerios in front, with a few pennies and small change as well. This is the pay the Ferryman to cross the River Styx and extra change for wee ones who never got any pennies and are stuck on the bank waiting to cross. :heart:
Click to expand...

That just made me cry. :sad3:
 
Melissa's ZOO said:
All of my furkids are cremated (it is not cheap) and when I pass on I will be cremated and mixed with my babies. Totally morbid put hey you have to have a plan. I just like the idea that no matter where I go they get to go with me. I am a mourner I spend time with them after they pass crying (they are usually soaked with my tears) and loving them I do this usually till the warmth has left them and then I put them away. The bf thinks it is gross to kiss their little lifeless bodies but it makes me feel at peace because they look so peaceful.
Click to expand...
I sure understand. I too keep them with me until I can see signs of stiffening before I wrap them up and put them in the freezer (terrified they might not be truly gone). I hold, cuddle & kiss them too and say my thankyou's and tell them my memories and cry my eyes out. Then I snip a bit of fur (or a claw from a hairless) and put it in a glassine envelope with their name on it (keep them all together in a special box), I wrap each kid with a snip of my hair so I am with them, and a chocolate chip between their front feet.
A few of my earliest are in my mom's garden, then I found a lovely spot in the woods for a few, then a friend made a fenced-in ratty cemetary on his gold claim for me and we buried some there, but the last bunch he cremated and spread their ashes in the little cemetary and that's what we'll do from now on.
I've given my family instructions to cremate all their little envelopes of fur & claws with me when I die.
 
Fidget said:
Melissa's ZOO said:
All of my furkids are cremated (it is not cheap) and when I pass on I will be cremated and mixed with my babies. Totally morbid put hey you have to have a plan. I just like the idea that no matter where I go they get to go with me. I am a mourner I spend time with them after they pass crying (they are usually soaked with my tears) and loving them I do this usually till the warmth has left them and then I put them away. The bf thinks it is gross to kiss their little lifeless bodies but it makes me feel at peace because they look so peaceful.
Click to expand...
(terrified they might not be truly gone).
Click to expand...

That is my fear as well. Sometimes (I know it is all in my head) I think I feel a breath or a heartbeat and then I just bawl even harder knowing it is just my mind playing tricks on me.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top