China is developing a western-style relationship with their pets. Time for animal welfare laws.

It is reported that there has been a 30% increase over recent years in the number of pet funeral-related enterprises in China. In other words, more and more citizens of China are deciding to cremate their companion animal on their passing. This clearly indicates a close relationship between human caregiver and animal.

Chinese woman and black cat. Photo: Adobe Stock.

For example, at Zhongqiao village in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province, there is a white building which is a pet crematorium. It's reported that more than 3,000 companion animals have been cremated there over the past three years.

The owner of the crematorium says that prices are scaled according to the size of the animal and they range from 800-2000 Yuan per cremation. This is US$125.8-US$314.4.

The prices seem quite high. In the UK, you can get an individual companion animal cremation for around a similar price. And I'm going to presume that the prices quoted in China relate to non-individual cremations. 

I much prefer individual cremations because when you receive the ashes you know that they are absolutely the ashes of your companion animal although, you probably know, that in a proper cremation there is no DNA left of the animal in the ashes.

I'm also told that there are now 6,900 pet funeral and cremation businesses in China. This comes from Tianyancha, an enterprise big data service provider.

All the more reason, therefore, for the Chinese authorities to introduce, as a matter of urgency, proper, general animal welfare laws that protect all animals as has been the case in the West for many, many years. 

RELATED: Pet ownership surging in China but still no general animal welfare law!

They simply have to adopt an existing piece of legislation in the West such as the Animal Welfare Act 2006 in the UK. This is an excellent act which not only protects animals but also sets out the basic requirements of animal welfare.

Is it such a mountain to climb to the Chinese authorities to integrate this sort of legislation into their society?

The lack of animal protection laws in China results in state-sanctioned animal cruelty as recently evidenced in Shanghai - read this story by clicking here.

What can I do if my cat dies at home?

The way I see it, you can do one of 3 things in terms of burial or cremation. However, before you deal with that it makes sense, I think, to spend a short some time with your cat and grieve over him or her. These are the last moment that you will be with your cat companion. 

Urn for your cat's ashes. This is for sale on etsy.com . It is a very nice one.

There is a caveat here. Rabies still exists in America albeit rarely. It is possible it seems to me to get rabies from a deceased cat. Apparently, the virus remains alive inside a deceased animal for 48 hours. That possibility should be observed but this is going to be a very rare occurrence because rabies is rare and the virus is normally injected into a person via a bite. Although irrelevant to this discussion I remember a Vietnamese guy eating the brains of a monkey or dog and getting rabies. A bit mad anyway to eat the brains of a dog but I think it is a cultural thing.

Nearly all diseases affecting cats are not zoonotic which means they can't be transferred from cat to human. I'm just making a small point for the sake of completeness.

Veterinarian arranged cremation

You can take your cat to your veterinarian and ask them to make arrangements for your cat to be cremated. They will probably charge a fairly modest fee. This takes away the hassle of making these arrangements. It's convenient. The downside, as I see it, is that the ashes that you receive might not be the ashes of your cat. This is because the pet crematorium may cremate several animals at one time. Not that this should be a huge worry because all traces of DNA are removed from the animal when they are properly cremated.

Individualised cremation

A better option, if you want to go down the route of cremation, would be to telephone your local pet crematorium and make arrangements for a private cremation. You take your cat to the crematorium, meet with an individual, and they will walk you through the process. You can watch your cat been cremated and receive the ashes while you wait. It is a while-you-wait process, essentially. And it should be because you want to make sure that it is a genuine individual cremation. It needs to be supervised in my opinion.

Backyard (back garden) burial

A third option is to bury your cat in your backyard or back garden (in the UK). In the UK it is perfectly legal to bury your cat in the back garden. You do not need permission for this. Just make sure that you bury him or her deep enough to avoid foxes sniffing around and digging up the body of your cat. About 3 feet should do. You might place some stones over the top or bricks is to make sure.

In the USA it isn't quite as straightforward. There are 50 states in the USA and although the vast majority allow you to bury your cat in the backyard, there are exceptions. My research indicates that: Arkansas, Vermont, Wisconsin, urban California and most of cities of Arizona do not allow people to bury their cat in the backyard. However, I can't completely trust this information and therefore for the sake of certainty it is probably advisable to telephone the local authority just to make sure you're receiving the right advice.

If it is illegal to bury your cat in the backyard, but want to bury your cat, you could make arrangements with a pet cemetery/pet crematorium to bury your cat at their facility.

Preferred option

The preferred option, I believe, must be an individualised cremation as mentioned. You can then bring your cat's ashes home and keep them there. I find this emotionally supportive. It is about emotion and not reality because as mentioned the ashes do not contain the DNA of your cat. They could be the ashes of an armchair in terms of hard science. But that doesn't matter. You arranged an individualised cremation and these are the ashes that you received. They represent your cat. It works for me.

Grandma buried cat on farm for apartment dwelling cat owner

She wrote: "My cat, Mayhem, unexpectedly died about eight months ago. Since I rent, I didn’t have anywhere to bury him and I was too heartbroken to really deal with it. My 86-year-old grandma ended up volunteering to bury him out on her farmland. She sent me this email today."

Grandma buried cat from apartment dwelling cat owner. Reddit.com screenshot.

It is a cute story. It is also an interesting story because my first instinct is to ask why this cat owner did not take her cat to her veterinarian to organise a cremation. Or perhaps take the cat to a cat cremation facility where she could have asked for an individual cremation. It is unusual, I believe, for people to want to bury their cat in the garden.

Perhaps, there was an issue of money. An individual cat cremation might cost about $150 in America and the same in pounds in the UK. That's not inexpensive but for me it is an absolute necessity so I find the money. Obviously a burial in the back garden is entirely free but what if you move home? 

I know that I am asking an obvious question. You want your cat to be with you which is why you have buried your cat at the bottom of the garden. Therefore, this points to cremation although there is no DNA left in a cat's ashes. The connection between you and the ashes is entirely emotional and not physical.

The behaviour of the grandmother is very cute and sensitive. It is the kind of behaviour that I love to see. It worked out well. Perhaps burial, sometimes, is the best way to go. Just make sure that the cat is buried deep enough to avoid the remains being dug up by a fox for a meal. It's remarkable but foxes will do this.

I have an article on the rules governing the burying of your cat in America. You can read it if you want to by clicking on this link here.