When your cat dies in Conway: what happens next
By our estimate, about 4,800 households in Conway share their home with a cat, and roughly 430 cats are lost there each year. You're not alone in this, and you don't have to sort it out by yourself.
- Local price ranges before you commit
- Pickup from home or your vet in Conway
- Private or communal, explained simply
Conway, South Carolina
Getting help for your cat in Conway
Many Conway families feel tied to the Waccamaw, and some pause along the Riverwalk boardwalk to say a few words after a loss. Others bury a small box under the oak out front, or keep ashes close in a cedar chest or a charm. Request written pricing that covers collection, the cremation type and a realistic return date for the ashes.
Conway is the Horry County seat, an old river town on the Waccamaw about 15 miles inland from Myrtle Beach, known for moss-draped live oaks, a historic downtown and a boardwalk Riverwalk along the water. Coastal Carolina University sits just outside town, and housing runs from older homes by the courthouse to new subdivisions off US 501. Give exact directions and any access quirks when arranging pickup.
Word travels in a place like Conway. You may find neighbors asking after your cat, the vet sending a card or someone at the feed store remembering the cat who sat on your porch. Let people help if you can. If your cat went missing and was found on a road, a neighbor may be the one who tells you; it's a hard way to learn, and it's fine to ask them to help you bring your cat home.
With roughly 30,627 residents, Conway is the 19th-largest of the 29 South Carolina communities we cover.
Conway sits within easy reach of Myrtle Beach (13 miles), North Myrtle Beach (20 miles) and Florence (49 miles). A provider based in any of them will usually collect from Conway; ask what the mileage adds to the bill.
Our estimate
4,800
How many cat-owning households Conway has (estimate)
How we calculated this
30,627 ÷ 2.5 = 12,251 households; × 39% (cat) = 4,800. A household with several pets counts once.
Our estimate
430
Conway families who lose a cat each year (estimate)
How we calculated this
4,800 cat-owning homes ÷ average lifespan (cat: 11.18 yrs) ≈ 430 a year. A floor, not a ceiling.
39%[1]
39% of US households own a cat, which is about 53 million households.
11.18 years[2]
US cats seen at Banfield hospitals have an average life expectancy at birth of 11.18 years.
56.1%[3]
The NFDA projected South Carolina's cremation rate at 56.1% for 2024.
clinic $158; home $359; cremation $180; burial $566[4]
CareCredit's 2025 study put US cat euthanasia at $158 in clinic and $359 at home, cat cremation at $180 and cat cemetery burial at $566.
We built the this numbers from CareCredit (Synchrony) and American Pet Products Association (APPA) 2025 State of the Industry, and both are worth a look if you want the detail.
Cremation in South Carolina, and what it means for cat owners
Faith and family custom often shape human funerals in South Carolina, where cremation accounts for roughly 56.1%[3], but the same rules rarely apply to pets. Most traditions say little or nothing about how a cat should be laid to rest. If it matters to you, a short conversation with your faith leader can settle it; otherwise, choose what feels right for your cat and your home.
We take the South Carolina rate from NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024). It is a human statistic; there is no equivalent pet figure for Conway, and we would rather show a real number than invent one.
Timing your cat's aftercare in Conway's climate
Whatever the season, ask any provider near Conway where your cat will wait between collection and cremation. A good crematory keeps animals in refrigerated storage and can tell you roughly how long your cat will be there. In warm weather that answer matters more; in cold weather it mostly affects when the ashes come home.
What cat owners in Conway typically pay
Expect the total to depend on four things: private or communal, how your cat is collected, what the ashes come back in and whether you add a keepsake. The weight of a cat barely moves the price. The ranges below are typical US figures; ask any Conway provider for a written total before you agree.
By our estimate Conway families would spend around $0.1 million a year if every one of the roughly 430 cats lost here were privately cremated at clinic $158; home $359; cremation $180; burial $566[4], the national average. Competition for that work is real, so quotes differ.
For a line-by-line price table, see the South Carolina overview; for what's included in each option, see our services.
Free tool
Cremation cost calculator
Estimate a realistic price range for your pet's size, location and the type of cremation.
Burial and scattering rules for South Carolina
Rules for pets after death are usually simple, but they're set at more than one level: South Carolina, then your city, county or council, and sometimes a homeowners' association or landlord. The strictest one applies. If you're thinking about burying your cat in the garden, check all of them; if you're choosing cremation, the rules mostly affect where you scatter the ashes.
South Carolina keeps an official directory of local governments; use it to reach the county or city office that covers Conway.
The rules that apply across South Carolina (home burial, scattering and who oversees pet cremation) are summarized on our South Carolina page. Conway may add its own conditions, so check with the city or county before digging.
What to do next, one step at a time
- Say goodbye in your own way. Nobody is waiting on you. Plenty of people spend an hour or two beside their cat, and holding them is perfectly fine.
- Let your other cats see the body if there are others at home. One might sniff and leave; another might settle beside their friend for a while. Both are ordinary.
- Make a keepsake if the idea appeals. Paw prints can only be made before the cremation, and clipping fur is simpler now than later.
- Contact a provider yourself or via your vet. If you'd rather, we can send you local options.
- Choose private or communal, then have the provider put that choice in writing.
- Plan where the ashes will go. You don't have to decide now; a cat's ashes fit in a small container that can sit on a shelf for as long as you need.
Remembering your cat in Conway
Conway's summers drag on hot and damp, and winters stay mild enough that cold rarely buys time. A tiled room with the thermostat low is the right resting place, and plans should come together within hours. The Waccamaw flooded badly after Hurricane Matthew in 2016 and again after Florence in 2018, so if your street takes on water, tell the provider and line up a fallback.
or see how other readers answered in our polls, Our services overview lays out every option side by side, the planning tools turn your pet's details into figures, read our guides and latest articles. More local pages: Greenville, Mount Pleasant, Rock Hill and North Charleston, the South Carolina overview and every city in the United States.
Reader polls
What would you choose?
Vote anonymously and see how other readers answered. The results are live counts from people who visit this site, so they show real opinions, not a scientific sample.
Which small keepsake would mean the most from your cat?
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If you have more than one cat, did the others see the cat who died?
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If you had to decide today, which aftercare would you choose for your pet?
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Free tools to help you plan
Cremation cost calculator
Estimate a realistic price range for your pet's size, location and the type of cremation.
Urn size calculator
Find the urn volume you need from your pet's weight, plus keepsake and sharing options.
Ashes weight estimator
See roughly how much ash to expect back, by species and body weight.
Questions people ask
Roughly how many cats die in Conway each year?
Our estimate is around 430. It comes from Conway's population (about 30,627), the average household size, the share of homes with a cat (about 4,800 households here) and the average lifespan. It is arithmetic, not a count, so read it as a rough floor.
How do South Carolina attitudes to cremation compare?
NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024) puts the South Carolina human cremation rate at about 56.1%[3]. We show it on the Conway page because pet aftercare choices tend to track it: where cremation is normal for people, communal and private pet cremation are both easy to find.
Which nearby towns can I compare with Conway?
The closest communities we cover are Myrtle Beach (about 13 miles), North Myrtle Beach (about 20 miles) and Florence (about 49 miles). Providers based in those places often serve Conway too. Ask each one for a written total that includes collection, so the distance is priced in.
Are there enough pet crematories to serve Conway?
By our estimate, around 430 cats die in Conway each year, from roughly 4,800 cat-owning households. Not every family chooses cremation, but demand on that scale supports several options in most regions. The number of providers physically in Conway matters less than how many collect from your address or your vet, and how quickly they return the ashes.
Do crematories charge extra to collect from a rural address near Conway?
Some do. Many include collection within a set distance and charge per mile beyond it, or add a flat fee for remote or out-of-hours trips, and for a cat that fee can exceed the cremation itself. Ask for the collection price separately. Driving your cat to your vet or the crematory in a carrier is the easiest way to avoid it.
How much ash will I get back from my cat?
Much less than people expect. Cremated remains weigh about 3 to 5% of body weight[6], so a 12 lb cat would be expected to return about 6.7 oz[7], roughly a teacup's worth. An urn of about 12 cubic inches is usually enough[8]. Our urn size calculator works it out from your cat's weight.
Sources and our estimates
- [1] 39% of US households own a cat, which is about 53 million households. American Pet Products Association (APPA) 2025 State of the Industry, 2025.
- [2] US cats seen at Banfield hospitals have an average life expectancy at birth of 11.18 years. Montoya et al. 2023, Frontiers in Veterinary Science - Banfield Pet Hospital life expectancy tables (13.3 million dogs, 2.4 million cats, 2013-2019), 2023.
- [3] The NFDA projected South Carolina's cremation rate at 56.1% for 2024. NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage), 2024.
- [4] CareCredit's 2025 study put US cat euthanasia at $158 in clinic and $359 at home, cat cremation at $180 and cat cemetery burial at $566. CareCredit (Synchrony) - Cat Euthanasia: Understanding Your Options and Costs (2025 ASQ360 procedural cost study), 2025.
- [5] Roughly 4.7 million pet cats likely die in the US each year. Our estimate: US cat-owning households (53M) x 1 cat / US cat life expectancy (11.18 yrs). How we calculate.
- [6] Embrace notes cremated remains typically weigh about 3-5% of the pet's original body weight. Embrace Pet Insurance - Bury or Cremate Your Dog? Costs, Pros & Cons, 2025.
- [7] A 12 lb cat would be expected to return about 6.7 oz (0.42 lb) of cremated remains. Our estimate: 12 lb x 3.5% x 16 oz/lb. How we calculate.
- [8] Using the industry rule of thumb of 1 cubic inch of urn space per pound of body weight, a 12 lb cat needs an urn of about 12 cubic inches; a 70 lb dog needs about 70 cubic inches. Our estimate: urn cu in = body weight lb x 1 (industry rule of thumb, not a measured value). How we calculate.
Get help arranging your cat's cremation
Tell us what you need and where you are. We'll reply by email with clear options and prices so you can decide in your own time.