How to Choose a Pet Urn
The short answer: choose a pet urn by your pet's usual weight first, then by where it will stay and how you want to remember them. Allow about 1 cubic inch of space for each pound they weighed, and if they are between two sizes, choose the larger one.
1. Start with their size
Use your pet's healthy, usual weight, not their weight at the very end. If you only know a range, use the top of it. If your crematorium gave you the actual volume of the ashes, that beats any weight guide.
Our urn size calculator does the sum for you. Most of our urns come in three sizes, chosen by your pet's weight:
- Small-Medium: for pets up to 15 kg
- Medium-Large: for pets up to 30 kg
- Extra Large: for pets up to 40 kg
These weight bands are the same on our dog portrait, pet portrait, wrapped, collar and canopic jar urns. As one example of size, our canopic jar urn stands approx. 231 mm, 270 mm and 309 mm tall in the three sizes. The bands are a choosing guide, not a measured volume, so if you know the volume of the ashes, tell us and we will confirm the size before you order.
Our largest size is for pets up to 40 kg. If your pet weighed more, message us before you order.
2. Think about where it will stay
Most families keep an urn at home, on a shelf, a mantelpiece or beside a favourite photo. Think about the space you have and how it will look there every day. Our canopic jar urn's lid rests on the jar without a seal, our collar urn's lid lifts off, and our other urns close with a black plug.
3. Choose how you want to remember them
Some people want something simple. Others want a piece that looks like their pet. Many of our urns are shaped from your photographs: a dog portrait urn, a cat portrait urn, a pet portrait urn shaped as their head, a wrapped urn with their portrait held in curved forms, and our personalised canopic jar urn with a portrait lid and their name on the front. Our collar urn keeps their ashes and their own collar together. For something quieter, our minimalist cat urn is a fixed design.
4. Think about the finish
Every one of our urns is cast stone. Our canopic jar urn is black with antique-gold detail. Our dog, cat, pet portrait and wrapped urns have a chalk off-white finish, our collar urn is chalk white, and our minimalist cat urn is pale. Every piece is made to order in the Lake District, Cumbria, UK.
5. Give yourself time
There is no rush. Ashes can stay in the container they come home in until you are ready to choose.
Common questions
What if I am sharing the ashes? Some families keep a little and scatter or bury the rest. Size the urn for the part you are keeping.
What if I do not know their weight? Your vet's records will often have it. If you are unsure, go up a size.
If you would like help choosing, write to us. We are happy to help, gently and without any pressure.