TikToker freeze-dried 16-year-old cat who was killed by foster dog

• A TikTok developer’s 16-year-old black cat, Loki, was killed by a foster dog in February.
• Million are following along as Soren High files the procedure of having Loki’s body freeze-dried.
• While lots of are gushing with assistance, others have actually slammed High’s unconventional mourning approaches.

Soren High, a 35-year-old designer and TikToker who lives in Portland, Oregon, has actually gone viral for the unconventional method they are grieving their late cat, Loki.

Over the previous 3 months, High has actually recorded the procedure of having the 16-year-old black cat freeze-dried. According to Animal Family Pet Preservation, which rendered the service, freeze-drying is an alternative to taxidermy, where cold temperature levels are used in a vacuum over a very long time to eliminate wetness from body tissue.

“I understood I wished to have [Loki] maintained the day I took her home,” High, who utilizes they/them pronouns, informed Insider. “It was an instant understanding that we were going to be together permanently.”

High initially started publishing about the strategies in March and consequently sent the remains off to Ohio. They have actually considering that recorded every action of the procedure, from evacuating Loki’s casket for shipping — total with flowers and ice bag — to narrating how to look after the freeze-dried remains, consisting of cleansing Loki’s glass eyes and preserving her fur.

Several videos in the series have actually gathered countless views. The most viral, where High unboxes Loki’s body, has 4.8 million.

“My cat got here in the mail today if you’re all set to satisfy her,” High says at the top of that video, opening the package and after that liquifying into tears holding Loki’s newly-preserved remains.

High thinks her cat would have desired this memorial

Loki died in February in a terrible mishap that High calls “the most traumatizing experience” of their life.

One night, when High was taking their foster dog for a walk, the big Dane mix lunged for a bunny, and High lost control of his leash. But rather of pursuing the bunny, the dog deviated and assaulted Loki, who was sitting outdoors. The cat passed away en route to the veterinarian’s workplace, High informed Insider.

Shortly after Loki passed away, High said their dispositions to have Loki maintained were verified while taking psychedelics. High “had an experience with [Loki’s] soul,” they informed Insider, whereupon the cat excused her conservation. “She informed me to simply like her and this was what I seemed like enjoying her was.”

High eventually went with freeze-driying over taxidermy since it triggers less damage to the body. It likewise “lasts a lot longer” and seemed like “more gentle practice,” they said. On TikTok, High explained that Loki had not been skinned, which all of her bones were still undamaged.

The treatment cost an overall of $3,000, High informed Insider, and the developer asked fans for contributions in order to pay for the pricey endeavor. They eventually raised $4,300 — with the staying $1,300 going to 2 animal rescue companies.

High said they were at first shocked and after that warmed by Loki’s remains

After they received the body, High was stunned by the completed item, consisting of how all of the information — consisting of Loki’s ear hair and bald eyebrows — had actually been completely portrayed. She even smelled like herself, High said.

“I’ll confess, it totally broke me in the beginning,” High said of seeing her remains for the very first time. “And then you see how ideal and total she is, and after that unexpectedly you are entire once again.”

In addition to Loki’s freeze-dried body, High has actually looked for to memorialize the cat in a number of other methods. Loki’s heart was freeze-dried independently, and the rest of her organs were cremated to be stowed in a customized urn. High is likewise dealing with a ceramicist on Etsy to shape a stack of Loki’s food out of clay to be put in her old food bowl.

For now, the developer is keeping Loki’s body on her night table, however is eventually intending on showing the cat on a rack in the living-room.

While most audiences have actually been helpful, others have actually slammed the non-traditional method High is processing their sorrow. Most individuals questioned if seeing a dead family pet’s body might be re-traumatizing.

“I might never ever do this. to see my kids deal with without him reacting to me I’d be broken all over once again,” composed a leading remark; “This would make my mourning procedure difficult,” another said.

Some have actually called the choice “weird,” and repellent, and compared it to “demonic abuse.”

But High said they selected to share the story to reveal audiences that freeze-drying was a choice. And, most significantly, it was a choice that relieved their grieving procedure.

“I believe sorrow is exceptionally made complex, and everybody’s going to do it a bit in a different way,” High said. ” Whether this is sorrow or approval, I’m not exactly sure. But I do understand that whatever in me said that she deserved this.”