Pets in Malaysia

I have two dogs, both from Malaysia. I did have a dog from the UK which I brought into the country after going through the Veterinary Dept process which is pretty smooth for only those countries with a reciprocal agreement with Malaysia and therefore no quarantine. (Info available on their webpage).

The UK dog was 6 years old, the journey was fine and he lived here for 3 years until he gotten bitten by an infected tick (in spite of monthly dosing) and contracted heart problems. We eventually had to put him down in spite of treatment. It was a very sad day for the whole family as he was a lovely dog.

I live in an area that is dog friendly, we have rules with regard to using leads, scooping the poop, barking, etc. Many of my neighbors have dogs. However, I lived in a different place when I first came here and had to get letters from neighbors to agree to me having dogs before the local council would give me my dog licences. I think this is a new requirement.

We did have one local resident who complained about our dogs when out walking but he was kindly reminded there is no prohibition on walking dogs in the neighborhood . It was an attempt to bully me (probably as I am a mat salleh) but this has not been a problem since as our area has many dog owners. He was outnumbered.

I think dog owners have to stand up for their rights to own a dog and not succumb to the bully boy tactics that are sometimes adopted. Dog owners must also be responsible for leashing their dogs, 'scooping the poop' and being respectful of people's property (no dogs peeing on car tyres)

Hi there,

Where I can buy a cat and budgies in KL? I want to compare prices in different stores too!

Do landlords normally allow pets in Malaysia? Let me know.

Hi ,

I am no longer living in MAlaysia.
However when i was there we had two cats we adopted and they were really good .
Before i left KL found new owners for them.

Hi Antony,

Thanks for your message.
Where did you get your two cats from? (just curious)

Hello,

There are so many displaced cats that are wanting a companion wandering seeking a meal out in the elements ie hot, torrential rain, thunder and lightning.

When we resided in Kuala Lumpur it was raining cats at our condo.  Thus, I attempted to take care of the cats and their kittens and re-home them via mutual acquaintances and their database of contacts.

There are local vets who advertise on their facebook pages if they have animals without a home.  Source a local vet in the area you intend to reside in.  The Associations of PAWS & the SPCA in Malaysia have many cats available.   

If you ask your neighbours or security guards they will always be able to point you to a homeless wandering cat.  Take your time - it is better to help a cat than to encourage more breeding through petshops.

I had re-homed most rescue cats on our property before returning home and we brought our two Malaysian cats back to Australia.  My cats were from a litter born on our property.  I found a home for their 2 siblings.  I fed and bathed the kittens born on our property and kept an eye on them.  At four - five weeks the kittens start wandering and may get lost or harm come to them so I had to take them from the last Mother early. The Mother was a beautiful looking siamese and the father mixed domestic.  The Mother sadly I suspect was run over.

A reader on the expat may know of a litter of kittens or a cat if you prefer an older cat.

It won't be hard to find a cat or kitten in Malaysia and they will love your forever more.

Best wishes

It won't be hard to find stray cats in KL. Not long ago I had a literary in the space above the ceiling, didn't know it until one died because of the heat. But we 100's in our area.

Adoption is a great option.

We brought our cats with us from the uk, initially to brunei, and then to kl. I had originally wanted to get a dog, but my wife grew up with the traditional stigma of canines, so we adopted first one, and then another adorable kitten from a friend in england. Cats can be difficult to move with, since they take considerable time to acclimate to new environments, and it can be hard when moving from house to house (or country to country) to ensure their ease of transit. We have now moved  quite a few times with them and they seem to be getting better at it. I was sad for them when we moved from our last house, as they had a lot of open space to roam and explore, although it could be stressful when they would get into standoffs with local strays or bring home their hunting trophies. Once the male cat came home with bite marks from what the vet believed was a small monitor, and also covered in some kind of animals blood (which induced a minor panic, lol). I feel a little sorry for them since we have moved to  high-rise, but i am somewhat relieved that we also get to avoid instances like that.

One thing that has repeatedly aggravated me is the callous and indifferent manner in which locals sometimes treat domestic animals. The pet movers who delivered our cats on this side, for example, might have been carrying groceries the way they handled them (which was especially annoying since we were paying them for their service). Of course, cats are generally treated quite well compared to dogs. In brunei one of our chinese/iban neighbours would rescue dogs, and would walk them around our neighbourhood in the afternoon. The amount of grief she caught from the muslim community (for an act of kindness to unwanted animals) beggared belief. I saw and heard of a number of instances of people in brunei being not only sadistically cruel to stray animals, but then posting their sick behaviour on social media. Apparently this is somewhat less of an issue here, although i still hear horror stories. I realise that there is an effort to change people's attitudes, but i still find it disconcerting.