If you are looking for a pet, we strongly encourage you to adopt a pet from the street or from an animal shelter. Please refer to the many online adoption portals or your local shelters.
We are not an adoption portal, but sometimes our help is requested, and we can help to publish:
The animals that we publicise for adoption are meant to be adopted as pets and not for resale or as food. We urge all potential adopters to respect this policy.
If you would like us to publish a rehoming/adoption request for you, kindly provide the following:
- Your name, contact details and general location (town, state).
- A write-up about the animal’s background – Age, Neutered? Vaccinated? Medical history, Temperament, any other useful details.
- Photos of the animal.
Since we are not an adoption portal, our adoption rate is very low. We urge you to please publish your animals for adoption in the many online adoption portals or participate in physical adoption drives held locally. Better still, do a shout-out on your social media platform and rehome to friends and family, not strangers.
Meanwhile, these are some online adoption portals. Please be advised that we found this through internet searches and we have not used them before. So, kindly vet the portals first and most importantly, please vet the potential adopters carefully before surrendering your animals to them.
Adoption portals (please check and verify before engaging their help):
Petfinder Malaysia: www.petfinder.my
Cats for Adoption Malaysia: https://www.
Adopting a New Pet
Space
Do you have enough space in your house for the pet? A dog would need about 9-16 square feet of space and a cat about 6 square feet each.
Please also consider the noise and smell which may disturb your neighbours if you have too many pets in your home. Find out about the laws on the licensing of dogs and the keeping of animals in apartments. Do not break the law.
If you have to cage your pet, remember to let your pet out for exercise and play at least once a day. Animals need sunshine and fresh air too. Also ensure that the cage is big enough. Never cage any animal for a long period; they will become neurotic. Ensure that your pet has shelter from the sun and rain.
Financial provisions
Looking after a pet involves having enough funds for their food, medical treatment and other needs.
Quarantine and first medical check-up
Always quarantine a new pet. Never allow them to mix with your existing pets in case they carry any disease. Always take the newcomer to the vet for a complete medical check-up and advice. It may be necessary to deworm and detick or deflea the newcomer before you bring them home.
Food
Learn about as many types of animal feed as possible and find out which food is best for them. In general, protein rotation is important, so please ensure your animals get a variety of suitable proteins in their diet.
BARF
BARF stands for Bones and Raw Food (or Biologically Appropriate Raw Food). This food is believed to be the closest to the animals’ natural and ancestral nutritional needs. Read up on the correct proportions and preparation before giving it to your pet. Always start with small amounts. There are store-bought BARF diets too.Feline nutrition: https://hare-today.com/feline-nutrition/nutrition
Canine nutrition: https://ironwillrawdogfood.com/blogs/news/top-10-reasons-to-feed-your-dog-raw
Home-prepared food
You may wish to prepare your own food for your pets. Again, please read up on the correct proportions and preparation to ensure the food is nutritionally balanced.One of the keys to getting the proportions right in home preparation of petfood is to “Think Chicken”. When a wild cat or wild dog catches a wild chicken in the wild to eat, the first part it eats is usually the stomach which contains digested plant-food, hence, we have some cooked vegetables. And the amount of veges is only about 5-10%. Next, they go for the meat, skin, muscle and organs (raw or cooked in our preparation). Finally, it chews on the bones for dessert. Hence, a bit of raw bones (parts that does not cause choking) so that the animals get the nutrients from the bone marrow. Never feed cooked bones – it splinters. The proportions muscle meat/organs/bones/vegetables also differ for dogs and cats because while dogs are omnivores, cats are obligate carnivores and taurine is a very essential amino acid for cats. There are many contentious debates on home-prepared food ranging from cats not needing carbohydrates and vegetables, hygiene concerns to imbalanced nutrition. Hence, it is very important to obtain credible information from reliable sources before we home-prepare food for our animals.
Wet canned food
This may be a good alternative if you do not have time to prepare your own food. Learn to read the ingredients list and avoid brands that contain too many preservatives. Learn to differentiate between complete diets and complementary food (meant as snacks).Dry food (kibble)
If you cannot manage the three options above, you may wish to use dry food for convenience, but please do not stick with one brand. Consider changing brands for variety and a balanced nutrition. Learn to read the ingredients and read up on the latest research available. It is believed that dry food ought to be a last resort because of its high content of carbohydrate, its very low moisture content and it is also highly processed. Many pet parents use dry food only as a snack.
When you change diet/brands, always do it gradually and in small amounts first. A sudden change may cause diarrhoea which can be very serious.
Whichever diet you choose to use, remember always to have plenty of fresh water at all times for them and the bigger the variety of foods the more balanced the diet will be.
Food is the foundation of good health. Good nutrition goes a long way in ensuring your pet’s optimum health.
Sanitation
Always dispose of your pets’ urine and faeces in a proper and responsible manner. Do not just throw the waste into the drain. Your neighbours might not be happy with that. Always pick up your pets’ faeces regularly and dispose of it responsibly. Urine has to be washed away and the area kept clean and sanitized. If you walk your dog, please bring a plastic bag to pick up their faeces. For cats, a litter-tray will serve as their toilet. Clean the litter-tray often. There are various types of cat-litter on the market, ie. pine, tofu, clay, paper, wood, etc. Read up on this.
Medical Needs
All pets should be dewormed, deflead or deticked, vaccinated and neutered. Vaccination protects your pet from getting certain diseases. Neutering prevents your pet from reproducing and also from getting certain cancers later in life. Seek advice from your vet for optimum healthcare for your pet. If your pet appears to be ill, take them to the vet immediately for proper medical treatment and advice. Your quick action may save their life.
Identfication
Let your dog wear a collar which has your name and contact details. This will help in case your dog gets lost. Collars on cats should be used with caution because it may cause entanglement and strangulation as cats have a tendency to jump; hence, detachable collars are safer. Always keep updated photos of your pets. In case they are lost, distribute flyers, use the internet to send out an alert or locate them at the pound or shelter. If your pet is lost, do not delay – send out an alert immediately. The faster you act, the higher the chances would be of bringing them back safely.
Time, Commitment and Love
Spend time with your pets, play with them and love them as much as you can. You are all they have and they depend on you. They trust you will take good care of them. Pets are a part of your family. Once you adopt them, please be committed to look after them for the rest of their lives.
Adoption ought to be a lifelong commitment.
But should you be unable to look after your pets for any reason, always make sure they get to a good home. Surrendering them to a shelter should be the last option. If you do, find out what the shelter policies are before you place them there.
Note: The author acknowledges with grateful thanks to a shelter manager for sharing some of the above tips.
Tips on starting a small animal sanctuary.
Disclaimer: The above is only a sharing. Please consult a veterinarian and/or nutritionist for professional advice regarding the care of your pets, and please consult the relevant professionals and authority if you wish to start an animal sanctuary.