CREMATION OPTIONS

Our guide to what options you have available after your pet has passed away.

The death or euthanasia of a pet can be an upsetting time.  Your options afterwards can be quite varied and different people often want different things. This page is to try and help you clarify what those options are.    It may help to plan this in advance.  You have the option to pre-select your "Intention of Wishes" so  that we can keep this on your record for when the time comes.

We hope to explain the whole process so that it is one less thing for you to worry about.  We do also have a useful section on Euthanasia, which explains about how this act actually takes place and what you can expect.

Individual Cremation Options

If you would like your pet individually cremated and the ashes returned to you, we can arrange this for you.  We use Cambridge Pet Crematorium (CPC) .  


We will make all the necessary arrangements for CPC to collect your pet from our surgery - meaning that you don't have to worry about any of the planning. They usually come and collect from us twice a week.


With an individual cremation, your pet is cremated entirely on their own and then the ashes are completely collected and returned back to you.


The cost of the individual cremation does vary with the size of the animal, and these prices are displayed below.  You then have a variety of options for the vessel that you have the ashes returned back to you.


All prices shown INCLUDE VAT.

1

Costs for Individual Cremation

Cats/Rabbits

& Small Pets
 

£228

Small Dogs
(<25kg)

£265

Medium Dogs
(25-45kg)

£296

Large Dogs
 (>45kg)

£344

2

Vessel Options

Scatter Box

Scatter Box

no extra charge
A Woodland presentation box for your pet’s ashes. The box is biodegradable
and is ideal for either scattering
or burial of ashes.
C01
Scatter Tube

Scatter Tubes

no extra charge
These practical Scatter Tubes keep your pet's ashes safe until you have found a perfect time and place to scatter or bury them.

Available in Woodland or Emerald Designs
C02/C03
Scatter Pouch

Scatter Pouch

no extra charge
These scatter pouches are hand-woven in natural bamboo, making them eco-friendly and totally biodegradeable.
C05
Natural Wood Casket

Beech Casket

add £28

A simple and elegant hand crafted Beech Wood casket for ashes, complete with brass engraved nameplate.

A/  C06

Dark Wood Casket

Natural Wood Casket

add £28

A simple and elegant Ash casket,
complete with brass nameplate.

A/  C07

Carved Wooden Casket

Mahogany Casket

add £28

A simple and elegant Ash casket
professionally stained to appear
as Mahogany, complete with
brass nameplate.

A/  C08

Dark Wood Casket

Keepsake Box

add £28

Place a photograph of your dog, cat or other pet in the lid of this wooden keepsake box. The ashes are stored discretely within.
  •     Frame: 16 cm square
  •     Photo aperture: 10 cm square
  •     Depth:  6 cm

A/  C12

Dark Wood Casket

Deluxe Natural Wood

add £57

A more ornate, natural light casket that comes complete with brass nameplate.

B/  C09

Carved Wooden Casket

Deluxe Mahogany Casket

add £57

With a more ornate design, and with a professionally stained mahogany finish,  this casket is completed with brass nameplate.

B/  C10

Tribute Box

Sleeping Cats

add £57

A charming and discreet wooden cat casket creates the ideal tribute for the pet you have lost.

Available in either a Dark or Two-Tone designs.   

B/  C14/C13

Tribute Box

Slate Urn

add £57

The traditional urn shape is
combined with a contemporary
brushed gunmetal finish with
Pawprint motif and lid detail
highlighted in brass. 

B/  C21

Carved Wooden Casket

"Elstree" Casket

add £70

The Elstree wooden casket is a high quality rosewood casket or pet keepsake box. The casket has a beautiful smooth finish and features solid brass inlaid paw prints on the lid..

C/  C11

Deluxe Casket

Pawprint Urn

add £70

The brass Paw Print Pet Urn is hand finished and is decorated with paw prints. The urn has a titanium style satin finish and it comes with a velvet presentation box.
 

C/  C19

China Urn

Rosebud Urn (Gold)

add £70

The Rosebud Pet Urn is made from brass. It is available in two finishes, either a gold style satin finish or a titanium satin finish. The Urn comes with a velvet presentation box.
   

C/  C17

Slate/Pewter Urn

Rosebud Urn (Titanium)

add £70

The Rosebud Pet Urn is made from brass. It is available in two finishes, either a gold style satin finish or a titanium satin finish. The Urn comes with a velvet presentation box.  

C/  C18

Classic Urn

Eternity Urn

add £70

The brass Eternity Pet Urn is individually engraved by hand . It comes complete with a velvet presentation box. This provides you with a safe container for your pet’s ashes.

C/  C20

Classic Urn

Metal Cat Urn

add £95

These metal cat figurines have been
hand cast and intricately hand
designed by skilled artisans. The
ashes can be safely placed in the
urn via a threaded secure base.

These come in either a Black or Pearl Finish.

D/  C16/C15

Transfer to your own vessel

no additional charge
If you have found your own casket or urn, we will willingly transfer the ashes from the Scatter Tube into this vessel for you at no additional cost.

3

Payment and Return of the Ashes

Generally, we do not expect you to pay at the time your pet has died or been put-to-sleep.  In fact most of the time we are happy to let you leave via a different exit so you don't have to walk through reception.  Once we have made the arrangements and the cremation has taken place,  CPC will return your pet's ashes to our practice if you have requested an individual cremation.  They are usually back with us in around 10-14 days and we shall contact you by phone when we have received them. We don't tend to leave answer machine messages as we have found this can upset some people, so if you think you have may have missed a call from us - you are welcome to phone us and check.


All cremation payments  are now done via our practice so you won't need to contact the crematorium directly.


If you have opted for a General Cremation or Home Burial, then we will either post the invoice out to you, you can pop back into reception or pay over the phone at a later date to settle the outstanding amount.

General Cremation Options

Cambridge Pet Crematorium (CPC) are able to able to offer a general cremation service too.  They will collect your pet from our surgery and he/she will be cremated properly at their crematorium, but it will be with other pet animals.  

It is important to understand that with a general cremation, there is no option for the ashes or token ashes to be returned to the owner. 

Caged Pet/Rabbit

(eg Hamster/Guinea-Pig/Chicken etc)

£20

Cat

£56

Small Dog

<25kg

£61

Medium Dog

>25kg but <45kg

£94

Large Dog

> 45kg

£130

At Cambridge they have extensive Gardens of Remembrance; they inter token ash from all of their communal cremations and mark their final resting place with a plaque. The gardens are open to visitors Monday to Friday from 8:30 to 5:00 and 8:30 until 3:00 on Saturday. Many customers  choose to visit the Gardens to spend time remembering their pets.

If you would like information on burying your pet’s ashes in our gardens please contact their bereavement team in Cambridge.
Cambridge Pet Crematorium
A505 Main Road
Thriplow Heath
Near Royston
Hertfordshire
SG8 7RR

Tel: 01763 207700
Visit Website

Home Burial

You are welcome to take your pet/keep at home with you to bury.   As long as you own the land this is not a problem. For cats and smaller dogs this is usually quite a feasible option and we are able to supply a cardboard “coffin” if this helps. There is a small charge for the coffins if you request one.

Practically speaking, you need at least a foot of soil to go above where you bury your pet. We also suggest avoiding lining or wrapping your pet with anything that isn't going to breakdown with nature (ie avoid plastic etc). Lining the burial area with newspaper is a good idea. We also suggesting putting something over the top of the burial area such as a piece of wood or concrete slab etc, just to prevent the area being disturbed by wildlife.