# What do you do with your rats after they pass?



## Chivahn (Mar 30, 2007)

This may seem kind of odd and be a fairly touchy subject, but I am at a loss as to what to do.

I've lost four rats in eight months. I live in an apartment without anywhere to really bury them....so they're in various boxes in the freezer.

Am I the only one who does this? I'm not quite sure what to do, if I could bury them in a park or at a friends house (all my friends have dogs).

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.


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## begoodtoanimals (Dec 6, 2007)

Depending on the area where you live:
Burial at the side of a river
Natural remote areas
Next to a farmer's field (fields are often plowed so you want to stay on the outside areas)
Anyplace quiet with soil.Put the rats n a back pack along with a small shovel. Go during the day so it doesn't look suspicious. To keep the grave a secret I have put flowers, letters, favorite toys etc in there with them so nobody will know.
Pet cremation is another option. To cut costs you can ask them to cremate all rats together, that's how they lived anyways.
Good luck and I am sorry you lost your little friends but their spirits never die and stay in your heart.


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## bffel3 (Apr 20, 2008)

well when my rat died i burried him in my backyard and put a little flower to grow over her.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Ahh yes boxes in freezers. I use those adorable little gift boxes from dollar stores, have a legend on my fridge of who is in which box as well :roll:

I take mine to my sisters or mom's property and bury them. My mom has dogs but they never once attempted to dig them up 

I would bury them at your friends just dig them deep enough or put a nice flat rock on top.


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## windyhill (Apr 19, 2008)

I bury them in the woods behinde my house,next to a tree. All the animals there have woodens crosses with their name on them. I have pnety of dogs and none have dug them up.

In the rare cases where I've had a rat die from un-known couses ro disease(alot of the rescues I get are sick and dont make it to the vets office in time) causes, I burn them in out trash burn barrel. I know it sounds harsh,but I dont want o take the chance of anything digging them up and getting to them.


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## ration1802 (Sep 25, 2007)

I used to bury them in large plant pots with a rose bush on top.

I now cremate them (after keeping them, like you do, in the freezer). I was really weirded out by the thought of cremation at first, but since having Katie cremated, intend to cremate all of them from now onwards. I got a small casket urn that now sits in her favourite cube ontop of my tv and it's as if she's still part of the family. If that makes sense


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## lovinmyworm (Feb 18, 2008)

I go to the park and bury mine. There is a little spot right off one of the trails and it's sooo pretty! It is right next to some big boulders, overlooking a stream that has a little waterfall and has wildflowers growing everywhere. I just go out there with a shovel and the rat (in a ziploc bag for easy carrying and so other animals that are wild don't smell it and immediately dig it up) and I bury them, then place a big rock over them. If they pass in the winter I take them to my friends house to put in her freezer. I know it sounds weird to take a dead animal to your friends house, but my freezer is small my family is big and she has a huge deep freezer. Last summer was the worst because she had a kitten that passed, I had 2 rats that passed, and her mom's bird died. We had them all in the freezer until the ground thawed than went out to my little spot and buried them.


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## twitch (Jan 4, 2007)

i'm in a an apartment and don't want to bury them at my parents as i don't know if i will always be close enough to visit when i need to. so i have mine cremated. the cost is not that bad. it was only $25 when they used to charge me. they haven't since Spider's death and i don't think they meant to even then. you need to talk to the crematorium itself though and arrange a time and place for pick up. the vet's will charge you an arm and part of a leg to let you use their freezer. until the crematorium and i am ready i keep them in boxes or other containers in the freezer. i had pocket in the freezer for over a year before i was ready to part with her at all. now they are all on the mantle piece in the living room in nice urns. when i settle down and get my own house i will bury them then but until then want to keep them with me. sometimes you just need to visit them, this way i can do that.


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## begoodtoanimals (Dec 6, 2007)

I am not sure about the rats but I will cremate my dogs and save the ashes until it's my own time and we all will be released as one.


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## lil-lith (May 26, 2007)

Am I the only one who just leaves the rat with the vet? I don't want to witness the rat being PTS (did once, kind of unpleasant), and I don't want to take the body home afterwards.

I've had only one rat die at home (incidentally, my very first one, about seven years ago), and I asked my brother to bury her in our yard. He might as well have thrown her in the trash, it really means nothing to me. Once they're dead, they're dead; that's that.

Have you given any thought to cremation? If you decide to bury them, I guess your friend's yard would be your best bet. I doubt a dog would show interest if you buried them deep enough.


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## begoodtoanimals (Dec 6, 2007)

After death, just their bodies remain and the spirit goes to wherever we hope they go. but if you truly loved your rat, you would also have loved his/ her body; the soft feel of the fur and the funny tail. Throwing that memory in the trash would probably hurt you more than them.


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## ration1802 (Sep 25, 2007)

I could never imagine just throwing them away. When I buy a pet I feel as though I am responsible for them in life AND death - I want to give them as special of a resting place as I can. They deserve it, of course.


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## lovinmyworm (Feb 18, 2008)

I think I would be ok with taking them to the actual dump, but not just throwing them in the trash. I can't bear the thought of that giant crushing thing on the trash trucks smashing their little bodies along with everyone's garbage.


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## twitch (Jan 4, 2007)

it tears me up holding them as they pass at the vet and when i find them dead in the cage the next few days seem very surreal. but i want to be there for them at the end. i want to make sure they know they are loved absolutely and i don't want them to be afraid. i owe them that and i could never shirk my sense of duty. i just can't imagine dieing alone, surrounded by strangers on a cold in your final moments. i want the last thing they hear to be a voice that understood, loved and cherished and to be wrapped in gentle hands and surrounded by at least one smell they recognize and in all that i hope they can find peace and not be afraid. 

my mother on the other hand can't stand it. she won't even take them to the vet. she sends my dad in instead. he can't stay there with the animal either. he's not one prone to emotion while my mother will drop emotions of all flavors at the drop of a hat, and he still can't stay there with them. 

so i completely understand to each their own. i would feel worse if i or their cage siblings wasn't there with them. it the final thing that i can do for them you know? 

as for keeping the urns, it really comes down to that i want to be able to visit their grave and though they are not there, not what made them, being close to the remains makes me feel that i'm closer to the spirit it used to contain. it also comes down to not wanting to leave behind any family members. we don't have a pet cemetary where i am. where i bury them can change ownerships in my lifetime and then i won't be able to visit them, or their graves may be disturbed, and that just does not sit well with me


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## Pink (Dec 27, 2007)

Have you ever thought about donating your rats to a museum? When I loose my rats (my oldest is around 20 months, rescue so I'm not sure, and my youngest is 2 months, 11 total) I will prep them at the museum, saving their skin, skeleton, and tissue sample for research and education. I really cannot think of a better way to honor my animals than to allow them to continue to help and live though research for man-kind.

Pink


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## Meliss (Sep 1, 2007)

I creamated tara---after we put her to sleep


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## Vixie (Jul 21, 2006)

Lil-lith said:


> Am I the only one who just leaves the rat with the vet? I don't want to witness the rat being PTS (did once, kind of unpleasant), and I don't want to take the body home afterwards.
> 
> I've had only one rat die at home (incidentally, my very first one, about seven years ago), and I asked my brother to bury her in our yard. He might as well have thrown her in the trash, it really means nothing to me. Once they're dead, they're dead; that's that.


My first heart-rat, Rayne, died in her cage overnight and I cannot tell you how horrible I feel to this very day for leaving her alone like that. To make things worse I had my mom take her, put her in a box and throw her in the trash. I regret that, heavily. Her partner in crime (and the love-rat of my life) Acid passed not too long ago and I made sure I was with her every second I could, I was willing to take her with me to school just so she could feel me and know I'm with her(Acid was pretty much paralyzed the last few days). I've made sure to say goodnight and good morning to my rats every single day since then, if only for a second-long scratch through the bars.

I have been blessed with a very nice row of oak and fig trees in my backyard, all of my furkids will hold a place of honor there. I like to believe part of our life cycle is giving our bodies back to the earth, so I uphold that practice with the ratties. All I really do is bury them(no box) with their favorite toy or hammock or what have you and mark the site with rocks.


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## kancerr (Apr 7, 2007)

ive put a few in my front yard...in a shoe box, i pick out one of my favorite shirts(even if i still wear it) and make them a bed/blanket with it and bury them in the front yard. ive run out of room tho so not sure what i will do next time ;/ last rat that passed away i had to have her put to sleep and the vet put her in a freezer to wait to be taken away for a group cremation, i was out of options, spent several hundred trying to get her to be healthy and she didnt make it. (my cat also passed away the week before costing me 1.5k and i paid for a single cremation and got her back in a nice wooden box...couldnt afford to do it twice, really bad timing)

next time im not really sure what i will do. my dad has a lot of land in west virginia with a river that runs through the back yard. may be that would be a good spot, lots of wild animals but hopefully i can bury far enough down.

if you dont have a place to bury em find a nice spot where you can remember where its at and go to visit your good friend whos passed on.


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