Homeowner throws away the body of a neighbour’s cat who died in their backyard

We know how indoor/outside cats wander into neighbours’ gardens. They don’t go that far very often. And in this instance an elderly male cat (19) with a female name, Milly, wandered into a neighbour’s garden to sunbathe and died peacefully in the sun. Milly had a good life at his home near Kingsway in Rochdale, UK. But his death was mishandled by his owner’s neighbour who didn’t know what to do. She wrapped him in black bin liners and took him to the Rochdale waste and recycling centre in Chichester Street on the day he died. This is one of those big waste disposal centres where residents take all kinds of rubbish including large items and defective devices. You can see the size of the place in the photograph below.

Rochdale waste disposal centre. Photo: Alan Hamer.

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Amy Burnside, Milly’s owner, located the woman who had disposed of Milly and found out what she had done with him. She contacted the waste disposal centre and asked them if she could recover her deceased cat but was unsuccessful. One worker at the centre was quite helpful we are told but they said that he’s gone. She never had a chance to say her goodbyes and to either cremate or bury him.

Amy is heartbroken because she has so many happy memories, Milly was treated like many domestic cats are, as a member of the family. She said: “We’ve had him from being a kitten, bathed him, brushed his teeth. All these years, he’s been well-looked after. He was the cheekiest cat in the world. He was crazy. When we first moved to the area, he took himself on a bus. He was lovely, so friendly and so loved by everyone local. It makes it all the more sad. The ending he’s had has really upset me, he doesn’t deserve to be sat on a tip waiting to be crushed.”

The homeowner on whose property Milly died, should have taken him to the local veterinarian. She could have rung up beforehand and told them that she is going to come down with a cat who had just died on her property and she would like the veterinarian to scan for a microchip to see whether they can identify the owner and return him. Either she didn’t care about doing this or didn’t know. Alternatively, she could have contacted the local council’s environmental management team who could then try to reunite Milly’s body with his owner.

It’s a lesson to others, perhaps, who have been through this experience. If a person finds a deceased cat anywhere, they should try and reunite the body with their former human companion and caretaker because that’s the right thing to do. A lot of cat owners like to keep the ashes of their deceased cat in their home. It’s about memories and a continuing emotional connection which is reassuring.

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