Dear Eric: Before a summer trip to visit family in 2019, a friend’s cat passed away. She wrapped the kitty in one of her husband’s T-shirts and buried it in the desert backyard, maybe two feet deep. Around the day she was leaving, she discovered that desert fauna had slipped inside the backyard fence and disturbed the site. She told me she couldn’t deal with the mess; which I completely understand. I was cat-sitting her other cat, so I helped.
My first attempt at cleanup was not successful. Second attempt, I thought I’d either take the remains to be cremated, or bury the cat in my backyard. Cremation costs were out of my means so, for the last six years, the kitty has been safely buried in my yard.