If your answer is yes, we have good news. It is already possible—and in a very Catholic country in Europe. As reported by Comune di Milano, since 2025 this has been possible at the municipal cemetery in Milan, the capital of Italy’s Lombardy region.
Cats, dogs and other animals may be buried in municipal cemeteries under certain conditions intended to respect both the memory of our loved ones and that of their animal companions. The bodies of animals buried in the cemetery must be cremated. Animal ashes may not be scattered in the cemetery, nor may standalone inscriptions or images of animals be placed on tombstones. A photograph of the owner with their beloved pet is permitted, however.
Shared graves may be located in a columbarium, provided that only one urn may belong to an animal. If the remains of the deceased owner are transferred to another location, the animal’s ashes will also be transferred.
From a historical perspective, this may seem less shocking. Cat mummies have been found in pharaohs’ tombs. In antiquity, this animal was worshipped on an equal footing with the gods. In the area of the pyramid complex at Saqqara, Egypt, next to a statue of the goddess Bastet, who has the form of half a woman and half a cat, archaeologists discovered dozens of cat mummies in seven sarcophagi in 2018.
In 2024, the remains of dogs, horses, pigs, cows and even chickens were excavated in human graves at a burial site in Italy dating back more than 2,000 years.
Cemeteries exclusively for animals are already common and do not cause controversy in Poland. Will shared cemeteries for humans and animals be the next step? What do you think?