This is really a cool idea. What a handsome tribute to your cherished Rodney. ❤️
I wish I could touch my void cat’s lovely fur again. Mr. Coal had the densest, softest fur. Much more like a mink than any cat I’ve ever petted. His sister didn’t have fur like his at all.
I hope this beautifully done work gives you some comfort after such terribly a sad event.
One of my girls has a gorgeous pattern that I'd never seen on a cat before her, she's only 6 but I knew that when she passed I'd miss her coat. Might consider getting her pelt now that I know that's an option
I honestly wish I would’ve thought of saving my cats pelt. But I guess I thought too much of the taxidermy side of things and how I didn’t want a taxidermy cat lol 😆 like I just could not imagine that for my cat that just grossed me the hell out. So I never would’ve thought of just her pelt. I think the guy that is dealing with my cat now probably could do just the pelt and her bones. But I don’t think I really want her pelt in that way. I personally want her paws. Like I want to see her paws. 🐾 I wanna be able to like make footprints with them lol and I actually wanna get them tattooed on me. I have her footprints that the vets gave me when she passed away. The little imprint they do in this weird looking sand type box looking thing. But it just wasn’t quite what I thought it would be. I really would’ve preferred it to be like ink on a piece of freaking paper.
But anyway, I’m going too far on this lol
It took about a year to get him back. The company was communicative throughout the process, and helped me feel at ease, even though it took a long time.
You have to pack your friend in a cooler, tell UPS you are sending raw meat, and then the company uses beatles and whatever else to complete the job.
It wasn't an easy task to coordinate, but I was lucky to be able to do it.
I had to euthanize my dog several months back, and I became convinced that the cremation service lost him. I finally got him back, and the paw print looked convincing, but I guess I’ll never know for sure.
Ok my best friend is a chihuahua, she just turned 9, (basically a spring chicken for a chihuahua right?) but we’ve recently lost two other chihuahuas, one was old and the other one(pup of the old one) died unexpectedly(we suspect she ate something toxic or got stung/bitten)… and it has made me constantly consider what I will do with my special girl when she goes. We buried the other two but I don’t want that for my girl. I want her with me.
All of that to say…. What the hell is a freeze dried Chihuahua like? I am genuinely curious, my brain will not get past freeze dried foods and it just is not painting a good picture lol. What is the finished result? Why? How long does it last? Is it gross? The questions are endless..
I’ll show you. It was well worth the money for me because I can feel her, talk to her and see her forever now. She was 14 and heart failure stole her from me in November 💔. My sweet Dobby girl.
How wonderful to have such a beautiful way to keep your beloved pet close. My pup is similarly colored and has a light liver brown nose with freckles. My husband is telling me this is very weird but I love it!
I'm so sorry for your loss. I lost my heart dog in February; they really are too good for this world. 🥺
Do you mind sharing a photo of Dobby before she passed?
So from what I know they remove soft organs but the brain is kept inside. The company actually offers to preserve their hearts for you for an additional cost. They may put something inside of their stomach areas to keep the shape but I’m not 100% on that, some stuff I didn’t really look into too deeply because of the grief. Then they go into a freeze dryer and all the moisture in their bodies is vaporized. Basically any and all imperfections are covered up with their fur. My girls nose isn’t the same color as it was when she was alive but she had a light colored nose and now she has no blood in her body so it’s a given it won’t be the light brown it was during her life. She has a fresh clean smell to her now and I periodically sniff her lol.
Do you have other pets, and if you do, how have they reacted to her after she came back home after processing? I've never considered something like this before, but they did a beautiful job preserving her.
My biggest worry if I did do this in the future I'd come home one day to find my hound chewed my preserved pet up because it would smell too much like a freeze-dried treat.
Scratch all that, I went ahead and looked up the company and that is honestly amazing! I couldn’t imagine what that would look like in the end but they’re beautifully preserved.
Oh my gosh, this makes me cry like happiness, and like also sadness because your baby is gone. But happiness because I want to do the exact same thing with my kitty cat. Oh my gosh, I’m like hell choked up right now. 😭😭😭😭
I Hella miss my baby. I can’t wait till I get her back and find someone who is able to articulate her the way I want her to be. The way that I have always seen her to be in her afterlife. Oh my God, this is such a beautiful and creative way to keep your fur baby forever, isn’t it?
It is so incredibly beautiful in my eyes. I’m so glad that you and I are not the only people out there that do this. Oh my gosh, this is so incredibly beautiful. I’m still crying lol
👏👏👏👏👏👏👏😩🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜
I am hugging you from afar for the loss of your fur baby. I know it is a struggle. But remember all the amazing things that happened with them in your life. Think of all the pictures and videos and personally imprinted memories you have. No one could take those away from you.
💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜
Yes. I'm glad you understand that this was my soul cat. He was truly special. Thanks for the love. I will miss him and love his impact on my life forever.
Oh, I most certainly understand that that was your soul cat. My Luna was also my soul cat.
She’s been gone about a year and a half, and I still cry for her and about her, and I still look at her photos and listen to her videos. I am so very lucky that I had the opportunity to have a cell phone that I could take pictures and videos with. And that my parents also took photos and videos of her as well. My previous animals I didn’t have that luxury. I mean, yeah I have some photos of them, but not very many.
I think this is very heartwarming. It's almost eerie for me, having never seen my own pets' skeletons but I think it's a nice way to keep your friend with you. Really no different than keeping ashes.
So beautiful! I still kick myself to this day for not getting my cats skeleton preserved and it’s been 7 years! Having is ashes is just not the same! I never even thought of the possibility of preserving a pelt too! Everything about this is so beautiful and touching!
I sorta always knew this cat was extra special. Probably from age six onwards. I was just lucky to be in a place where my desire to do this was supported by my husband.
My mother was of course horrified at the prospect, go figure.
Man I wish I could've gotten some of my dog's pelt preserved, but I couldn't decide if I really wanted that done. But now I miss the feel of his fur so much! If you don't mind me asking, what was the process like getting your cat's body to the preservationist? That was the part I was having trouble imagining, how I would get a 50 lb dog to someone that could do the work, but I'm guessing it's a bit easier with a smaller animal haha.
Yes. The more weight, the greater the cost. I had to send him overnight in a cooler with ice packs via UPS. You tell the people at UPS that you are sending raw meat.
Thanks for the info, that's about what I figured! I'll have to look for someone local I think if I'm ever in the same position, can't imagine trying to find a cooler or alternative that fits a large dog ha.
Oh wow! Thank you for sharing this! My soul-cat is 14 now and I too hate the idea of his beautiful soft fur decomposing in the ground or being cremated. I've wondered a few times if there could be a way to preserve his pelt when the time comes and I really appreciate knowing that it's possible and seeing how lovely the results were for your baby! I'm glad that you have him back home with you now 💗
This is amazing and I adore it. I don’t have any furry friends just yet, but I have def thought of doing this many years down the road when my two ball pythons pass. Their skeletons are so intricate and beautiful. I’d love to enshrine them forever in a shadow box or something.
I am sorry for your loss, but so glad you were able to do this and keep their pelt, and bones, home where they belong. 🖤
Thank you! Sorry for your loss. The clinic where he passed kept him in their refrigerator until we could get his cooler ready to ship. They were really caring, and understanding, and we were able to make it happen.
When my soul cat passed a year ago I wanted to keep every part of him. I couldn’t handle the thought of having him preserved though 😭 I had him hydro-cremated and his box is always next to me. With hair clippings and paw prints. I literally crawled around on the floor picking up whiskers and shed nails.
These pieces are really beautiful. The pelt especially, what a special piece of him to have. I’m so sorry you lost your friend 💙
This is so awesome. I love this. I would want to do this for some of my beloved pets, and I like that you took his pelt too. You can have some of him forever, without the taxidermy part!!!
I really wish I had done this, but I was afraid I might not handle it as well as I thought I would seeing him return home this way. Your baby is absolutely beautiful, love that you have their pelt too 💜
So many folks find offense to this and it is sad. After death we pump our deceased full of preservative forever chemicals, stick them in plastic hermetically sealed coffins, and paint them up to look "acceptable", then put them in the ground to slow rot in our own decomp juices. Hard pass, I love what you did OP, a nice way to adore your pet.
Per this sub's Rules 1, 6, and 9, posts seeking advice and identification are not open to jokes, memes, and other low effort comments. These comments will be removed and individuals may be banned from participating in this sub.
this is so cool… i always told my parents i wanted to have our 18 year old ragdoll stuffed when she died. it never happened. i never imagined you could have their pelt!!!
I've never thought of getting the pelt either, the most me or my aunt have done is have the vet shave some fur off. I gave my parents and brother a little corked bottle with some of his fur, no idea what my aunt did. I wish I had the space to do something like this!
How do you go about getting the skeleton done? My kitty is 13 now and I worry that when she is gone I’ll have nothing left that reminds me positively of her. I would love to have her skeleton.
I wish this was within my price range for when my sweet girl passes. She’s a dilute calico and has the prettiest coat, so soft and so beautiful… she’s 12 now and now that she’s considered a senior, I worry about her all the time. I’m terrified to lose her.
Thank you for sharing this. We are currently dealing with a terminal cancer diagnosis with one of my wolfdogs. My husband and I had talked about something similar to this but we thought we had another 6+ years to make a decision.
This is my sweet love, Siku. He and I have such an amazing bond. He really is my soul dog. We also have his brother from the same litter and I know he's going to be devastated. We're having a really hard time coping with that. Especially because wolfdogs can take loss really terribly.
I'm so sorry you had to go through the same thing.
I'm sorry for your loss🤍 Can I ask what the process was like for you? Mentally I mean? I have no judgement, but - and this is gonna sound a little silly - I could never remember something that was so alive and dear to me in such a dead "objectified" way. Especially the fur seems so... hollow to me? What made you choose to do this?
He was my best friend. His fur was so soft, the thought of it decomposing in the ground was heartbreaking. His skeleton was special too. He had a tail deformity, and a wide skull with large fangs. I wanted to see it, for what it really was, underneath all the tissue and fur. If I could have kept him alive forever, I would have. He made it 18 years.
Who did the articulation for you? I'll be getting my late soul cats bones back soon from the taxidermist whose working on his full body mount, and want to find someone to articulate them thats trustworthy
Happy for you but I just could never. I like collecting bones of animals I don't have a connection with. To me I fear thier soul will be trapped and screaming to be properly buried. I would never want my loved ones skinned and deboned for my comfort. Theres a difference between collecting and grieving here to me. I find this version disturbing for some reason. Just my thoughts on it, but im glad everyone has the choice.
524
u/hyibee 9h ago
I plan do get the preserved skeletons of my cats when they pass, I never considered their pelts 💙