Should pets see your dead body?

[Whisperinyourear]

I think personally, it depends on the personality and resilience of your pet. For me I think your pet will find some closure and grief . But I believe many pets are smart enough to know when someone or other animals have passed. They will be upset but atleast they get closure rather than 'I saw my owner yesterday where has she/him gone?' and keep hoping you'll return one day.

 

[Deleted member 17949]

I would rather mine didn't

 

[Seiniar]

I think personally, it depends on the personality and resilience of your pet. For me I think your pet will find some closure and grief . But I believe many pets are smart enough to know when someone or other animals have passed. They will be upset but atleast they get closure rather than 'I saw my owner yesterday where has she/him gone?' and keep hoping you'll return one day.

Gosh...I don't want my cat to feel abandoned. When I created the thread I didn't even think about this matter. Now I'm even more confused..

 

[Cherrypea]

I think it's good for pets to see the body of a loved one otherwise they will never know what happened. I sort of learned this when I had a cat put to sleep at the vets and her sister looked and looked for her, it was heartbreaking, she went missing for days at a time and died herself not long after. If one of my pet's died now (2 cats and a dog) I would definitely let the others see so they can work out what has happened. Have you ever seen footage of elephants going back to the remains of dead family members? Animals have emotions and grieve but need to know about the death to do so. A guy I knew from dog walking died suddenly at home and his family took their dog in the room to see him.
Personally I'd love to ctb with my dog on one side and my cats on the other but don't think it'll ever be practical.

 

[flower]

it's interesting because if a pet gives birth to a stillborn puppy/kitten you're supposed to show the mother so they know and aren't pining for their child. but I honestly don't think I could let my pet see me dead because the image would be heartbreaking.

 

[lion2000]

I can understand having a beloved pet nearby. Maybe do some additional research online. I saw a buzzfeed article about a guy who ctb and his cats started eating him...I don't know how long after he passed that they started but his body was found in 2-3 days and it was nibbled down to the bones. all ten (yes ten!) of his cats died too because of his method, which I don't remember what it was, but basically he had toxins in there that killed his cats too. :(

 

[ge0rge]

I like how people in this thread are concerned about their pet's heartbreak rather than them eating their corpse. Cats will definitely eat you, love or no love. I'm locking mine outside my bedroom

 

[death becomes her]

Not sure if it's already been said but please don't let your pet near you because they could get into the SN or eat your vomit and die :(

Animals are smart, it might sound silly but you could have a conversation with him/her beforehand. Or someone could take your pet to the funeral viewing? This might work better with a dog but just brainstorming!

But also wanted to say I'm sorry you're in so much pain that it has come to this. I'm a fellow pet lover too and hanging on by a thread every day just to keep caring for my little ones.

 

[Lupgevif]

Your pet may attempt to eat your corpse if they don't get fed. About they seeing you dead, and the trauma, I truly don't know. They will miss you afterward if you have a good relationship, but I don't know how animals process dead human bodies.