Do you believe there is an afterlife for hamsters?

[Vierville]

Hi everyone. I know this is a bit of a heavy topic but having recently lost my precious little Monty and having experienced the passing of Admiral Lord Nelson late last year, I've been giving a lot of thought to whether there is an afterlife for hamsters.

I don't want it to get into the realms of religion at all but I was just interested in what everyone's thoughs are.

I must be honest, there were some pretty strange occurences around Monty's passing. Firstly, about four or five nights before she passed away I had to get up at 03h00 to go to work and there was an owl calling from the top of our roof. I know that it is a silly superstition but I believe (from numerous past coincidences) that if I hear an owl calling loudly, I usually get bad news or hear of a death close to me within a few days. Please don't get me wrong, I love owls. The same night I heard the owl, another owl landed in the road right infront of my wife's car. This never usually happens and she mentioned it as she loves owls too but it did unsettle her.

We discovered the huge tumour on Monty four days later and had to have her PTS that same day.

We use a small hamster carrier when taking our hamsters to and from the vets. There is deep Kaytee substrate and a little house in it and they usually burrow deep down and we don't see them at all until we arrive at the vets. On the drive to the vets this time, she sat right at the top of the substrate looking out. Very very unusual.

It had rained that afternoon but the strangest thing of all was that the entire drive, a rainbow was visible in the sky and it seemed to end in the direction of where the vets are. It stayed visible the entire drive.

These may all be mere coincidences but I'd like to think that whatever was waiting for Monty on the other side was something good and that it was all predestined for the better.

I'd love to hear your thoughts and I dedicate this to the memory of all the precious little friends we've lost.

[Haleslove]

Hey I believe that if we loved our pet and our pet loved us, then they will be there when we pass over.

After that I believe there is like a big pool of energy that they go back too and the more evolved they get the higher they move up the ladder, so like a big pool of water and one drop is your pet and then they go back to the pool and reincarnate to a new animal. Hard to explain.

Also I think what happened with you is signs and if you believe that then it is, also if something makes you think of her then that is there way of saying hi, same as when family passes over, you hear a song or something.

Just my thoughts x

[Celestial]

I do not want to challenge what you (and other commenters) believe, but you asked for our thoughts, and here's mine.

Science can't explain everything.

I'm neither a super religious person nor a super not-religious person, but I believe that what each person believes is how it is for them.
If you feel like those were signs, then they were signs meant for you! Knowledge about what happens after death is something that only the dead know, so the best the living can get to it is their beliefs and feelings. For all we know, our beliefs determine what happens to us!

I couldn't bare to imagine that my hamster has just gone into nothingness, or is now trapped in some eternal unpleasantness. Or, even worse, reincarnated as a 'higher life form' such as a human stuck in a terrible life of doing tedious and soul-crushing work. I would rather think that she's gone to somewhere nice so she may live in joy, free from the hardships of life, for time immemorial.

Personally, I am undecided about the specifics, but I believe that there is something. I believe that there are spirits, but I have no idea what they do. Do they wander the universe as travellers, seeking knowledge and exploring? Do they live out their lives in select places pre-determined by their life choices? Do they watch us from above, sending down love? Do the reincarnate? Could it be all of these or a combination or none?

For about a week after my hamster passed I would sit next to her cage before bed and I could swear that I heard sounds as if she were doing her stuff. The sound of her knocking her food around upstairs. The sound of her rooting through her bedding. Even a soft squeak or two. It may have been sleep depravation and sorrow... or it may have been her.

~ May all your beloved hamsters enjoy the best afterlife, whatever you feel it is~ x

[Ria P]

I'm not religious but believe in ghosts because i've had a number of paranormal experiences, in fact, i have a ghost in the house.

So there must be more than our current existence, another dimension for creatures that were ones alive in the sense we perceive life. Humans and hamsters and all the other beings that were once living on this planet or beyond, who knows where they are and where we are going once we die but i believe that our spirits, when they leave our body are going somewhere.

[Pebbles82]

I do think hamsters have a soul or life essence or whatever you want to call it and that is how they become bonded with us. A bond is like an invisible string between hearts that when severed waves around lost for a while and causes pain. On time we have happy memories and the difficult time fades. Many people believe in the rainbow bridge - a place where pets go and are there waiting for their owners when they pass. I think they stay in your heart and know that you love and miss them. I do think their life essence passes somewhere because as with humans, what remains is a lifeless body that the essential spirit has left.

I think hamsters have instincts too and know when they are near their time. And say goodbye . A few days before Newt was pts he came and sat at his cage door looking at me. After that he didn’t leave his nest much.

The important thing is they know they were loved and know you were helping them. It sounds like Monty knew she was going somewhere - not on a bad way and the rainbow was a nice sign that she was going to a place where she would be free from pain. I had a similar thing to your owl shortly after my grandmother died - a flock of doves circling - unusual in an inner city car park.

[AmityvilleHams]

I've had way too many paranormal experiences in my life to not believe these sorts of things are possible. I'd at least like to think there's some kind of beautiful place out there for our wonderful companions of all different species!

For a good while after my Syrian died, I would always find random seeds in strange places where they really shouldn't be - even when those places had been cleaned thoroughly enough.

I think sometimes some people are more in tune with paranormal things. I'd rather not risk sounding like an absolute crazy person, but personally I've had the sometimes awful but typically quite useful ability to just know things - without prior knowledge(among other strange things about me that will probably not be posted). Sometimes it's more of a feeling or a sign, other times just outright knowledge that I shouldn't have. Anyone can end up getting signs though, or little warnings like internal intuition of some sort!