If I keep an urn at home containing the ashes of my deceased and cremated favourite pet, if I touch/carry the ashes does this make me tamei ?
2 Answers
A dead Kosher animal would normally transmit Tumas Neveila, and a dead non Kosher animal would transmit Tumas Beheima Temeia (Rambam Hilchos Shaar Avos Hatuma 1,1-3)
The Rambam Hilchos Shaar Avos Hatuma 1,13 says that when the animal is dried up to the point that it cannot turn get its moisture back by soaking in warm water, the animal no longer transmits tuma, so ash of an animal does not transmit Tuma.
בשר נבילה שיבש אם יכול לשרות בפושרין מעת לעת לחזור לח וראוי לכלב מטמא ואם לאו טהור ואפילו באוכלין טמאין אינו מטמא
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@kouty Atzanot see here for when Atzamot- bones contract tuma judaism.stackexchange.com/questions/79371/… Feb 21, 2019 at 9:43
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@double I think the Rambam quoted includes Ofe and sheretz as not contracting Tuma when dehydrated ואפילו באוכלין טמאין אינו מטמא Feb 21, 2019 at 13:50
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@yosefkorn I'm sure user15464 knows that's not correct and this Rambam is explicitly only about Nivlat Behema– Double AA ♦Feb 21, 2019 at 14:00
No. Tumas meis is only for human corpses, and the accepted halacha is it doesn't even apply to human ashes.