Keeping your pet's paw print in Shanghai, China
Clay, ink, inkless paper or a 3D cast: this page explains what each one gives you, how the weather in Shanghai affects drying and setting, and what to ask your vet or crematory.
- Nose prints and fur clippings too
- Keep a scan so the original stays home
- Options that serve Shanghai
Shanghai, China
Getting a paw print in Shanghai: the local picture
Cremation is normal for people in China, about half of deaths nationally and far more in cities, so keeping a pet's ashes feels familiar in Shanghai. Space is the main constraint: a small urn on a bookshelf, a keepsake with a little ash, or a framed paw print suits most apartments. Choose something you'll want to see every day, not just something that looks good in a catalogue.
Land for graves is scarce in Shanghai, and the city has long encouraged sea burial for people. Some pet owners take a similar approach, preferring to scatter ashes or use a biodegradable urn rather than keep a permanent marker. If you'd like to scatter, check the rules for the place you have in mind, and consider keeping a small share at home in a keepsake.
In a city the size of Shanghai, the question is rarely whether someone can take a paw print. Most general practices, emergency hospitals, in-home euthanasia vets and pet crematories here offer one. The risk is the opposite: a busy clinic handling several goodbyes a day can simply forget. If you want a print, say so when you book, ask for it to be written on the aftercare form and ask whether the original will come back with the ashes or separately.
Shanghai's population is around 24,870,000.
50%[1]
China's cremation rate passed 50% for the first time in 2019.
~$32[2]
Paw-print add-ons at US crematories have a median price of about $32, from $10 to $76.
3-5% of body weight[3]
Embrace notes cremated remains typically weigh about 3-5% of the pet's original body weight.
Local customs and the keepsake you keep
Around 50%[1] of people in China are cremated, a middle-of-the-road rate that means local traditions vary from family to family. Some households want a grave to visit, others want ashes at home. A paw print works with both. It can sit on a shelf, be set into a garden stone above a grave or be engraved onto an urn.
Wikipedia: Cremation by country (2019) is where the China figure comes from. It counts people; we use it because attitudes to cremating a pet in Shanghai tend to follow attitudes to cremation generally.
Getting a clean print in Shanghai in any season
In warm weather, the first hours after a pet dies at home matter for comfort and for the print. Keep your pet in the coolest room, on a towel, and take the print early, before the body stiffens. In cold weather, a pet kept in a chilled room will have firm pads, so press the clay gently onto the paw instead.
What owners in Shanghai typically pay for a print
In some Asian cities, the public route leaves nothing behind. Hong Kong's government, for instance, advises owners that a bagged animal can go to a refuse collection point, from where it goes to landfill[4]. Any keepsake, including a print, then depends on you or a private provider. If cost is the worry in Shanghai, a home print costs very little and can be taken before you decide anything else.
The full price table by product is on our China page, and the services page explains what each option includes.
Free tool
Memorial budget planner
Add up cremation, urn, keepsakes and a farewell so the total holds no surprises.
What the law in China does and doesn't cover
If you might move away from China one day, it helps to know that a print, a cast or a photograph needs no paperwork at a border, while ashes sometimes do, and a grave can't come with you at all. None of that should decide your plans, but it's worth weighing alongside what China allows, set out below.
In order: the print, the aftercare, the keepsake
- If your pet is still with you, don't wait. Take a print on a calm, good day, after a meal or a walk, when your pet is relaxed. A print from a living pet is usually the clearest.
- Choose your method. Clay for something to hold, ink or inkless paper for engraving and jewelry later. Our kit chooser helps you decide.
- Trim the tufts between the pads with blunt-tipped scissors so the pads, not the fur, make the shape.
- Hold the leg, not the paw, and press straight down with steady pressure, then lift straight up. Take several prints and keep the clearest.
- Dry clay slowly indoors over two to three days, flipping it now and then, and finish with a coat of matte acrylic sealer.
- Photograph or scan the print flat in daylight. Most makers only need the image, so the original never leaves home.
From paw print to pendant, frame or garden stone
Many Shanghai families remember their pets at Qingming in spring, with flowers or a photo on a small shelf at home. Others prefer something personal and portable, such as jewelry holding a little ash, or a memorial stone for a balcony garden. If relatives in other cities want to share in the memorial, ask whether the ashes can be divided before they're returned.
Our services overview lays out every option side by side, try the free planning tools, or look at how readers voted in our polls, look through our guides and the blog. More local pages: the China overview and every city in China.
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.
Whose print are you thinking about?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
What worries you most about taking a print yourself?
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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
Memorial budget planner
Add up cremation, urn, keepsakes and a farewell so the total holds no surprises.
Paw print keepsake chooser
Match a print method to your pet's size, fur and the keepsake you want to keep.
Jewelry ash capacity guide
How much ash fits in pendants, rings and glass, and how many pieces one pet can fill.
Questions people ask
Is cremation common in China?
For people, yes: about 50%[1] of China deaths end in cremation, according to Wikipedia: Cremation by country (2019). Nobody publishes the same figure for pets, but in our experience pet choices in Shanghai follow the human pattern closely, so cremation is the default most families here start from.
Will the crematory send the paw print back with the ashes?
It depends on the provider. Some take the print at intake and return it with the ashes; others hand it to your vet or post it separately. Ask how the print is labeled and when it will come back, and ask for a photo of it before cremation so you know it's clear. If you'd rather not wait, take your own before collection.
How do I stop an ink paw print from smudging?
Dry the paw with a towel first, tape the card to a hard surface and press straight down with steady pressure, then lift straight up without sliding. Too much ink blurs the pads, so dab lightly. Take three or four prints and keep the clearest. Let the ink dry fully before touching it, especially in humid weather.
Can I get a print of my bird's feet?
Yes, with care. Birds are light and their toes are delicate, so use very soft clay and the gentlest pressure, or an inkless kit with treated paper. Ink is best avoided because birds preen and may swallow it. An avian vet can help if your bird is nervous. The result is a lovely, delicate impression of the toes and scales.
Is a paw print included when a vet comes to our home in Shanghai?
Often, but not always. Many home-visit vets bring a clay kit and include one print in their fee; others charge for it or leave it to the crematory. Ask when you book, and check whether a flat ink copy is possible as well. Home goodbyes are no longer unusual: in the Dog Aging Project, 22.8% of dogs who were euthanized died at home[6]. You can also take your own print before the vet arrives.
How long before the print and ashes come back in Shanghai?
By our estimate, most pet crematories return ashes within about 3 to 14 days[7], and a print taken at intake usually travels with them. A print taken by your vet may come back sooner, handed to you on the day or posted separately. Ask providers in Shanghai which applies, and request a snapshot of the print if you'll be waiting a week or more; it's reassuring to know it came out clear.
Sources and our estimates
- [1] China's cremation rate passed 50% for the first time in 2019. Wikipedia: Cremation by country, 2019.
- [2] Paw-print add-ons at US crematories have a median price of about $32, from $10 to $76. Our estimate: median of [$10 clay (AGP), $15 laser engraving (AGP), $49 ink (Final Gift), $76 clay (Final Gift)]. How we calculate.
- [3] 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.
- [4] Hong Kong's government advises owners may bag a dead animal marked 'dead animal' and take it to an FEHD refuse collection point, from where it goes to landfill. Hong Kong Government 1823 - How to handle the body of dead animal?, 2025.
- [5] Around 765,000 U.S. families a year are likely open to a personalized pet keepsake. Our estimate: 1.5M pet cremations x 51% interest in personalized memorials. How we calculate.
- [6] Of euthanized dogs in the Dog Aging Project, 76.7% were euthanized at a veterinary clinic or hospital and 22.8% at the owner's home. Dog Aging Project End of Life Survey - Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association (2026), via PubMed Central, 2026.
- [7] Published ashes-return times across the network's markets range from same-day (paid express) to about 4 weeks; a conservative typical window is 3-14 days. Our estimate: min/max across sources: Lambeth 3 days; US 5-10 days; RSPCA QLD within 14 days; AniCura Sweden 2-4 weeks. How we calculate.
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