If you have had a bad day coming home to a pet is the best medicine around, in no time at all a cuddle or a silly antic will make you smile and generally banish the blues. They are also great companions for people who live alone.
People have all kinds of animals as pets apart from the obvious cats and dogs, you can welcome birds, fish, guinea pigs, hamsters, rabbits, snakes, lizards, tortoises and turtles into your home. Whichever is your choice of pet, you have to realise the care and attention they need is for the whole of their lives and not until the novelty of having one wears off.
While it is important that all children grow up respecting animals and understanding how to care for them and behave around them, it is important that parents do not cave into their children’s pleading for a pet until they are old enough to look after the animal themselves and not leave it to the adults to do.
Adopt, don’t shop
I have eight cats, ranging from a one-year-old to a 12-year-old, that I have picked up from the street as there are so many in Macau due to the government’s policy of not carrying out a trap neuter release (TNR) programme. It is awful that the female cats that live in the street are doomed to a life of pregnancy after pregnancy and hundreds of kittens born into a life of fear, hunger and the vagaries of the weather. My vet told me that the average life of a street cat is three and a half years, which is very short. Mind you from the perspective of the cat that lives in the street it is probably a blessing as they have disease, traffic and evil people to deal with.
When I pass the many pet shops dotted around the city and see the windows full of kittens and puppies it breaks my heart knowing that in the background there is a mother and father subjected to a life of constant breeding. Then I think – what happens to these cuties if they are not sold, what happens to them when they are adults?
Also, I know people that have bought an animal from a pet shop and take it home to find it has numerous health issues.
Then there is the reason for buying from a pet shop that they want a pedigree animal. But are they really pedigrees? Do they come with certificates detailing their parents, grand parents and great grand parents from the equivalent of the Kennel Club or the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy (GCCF)
The Kennel Club is largest organisation in the UK devoted to dog health, welfare and training. Their objective is to ensure that dogs live healthy, happy lives with responsible owners. They run the UK’s largest registration database for pedigree dogs and an activity register for crossbreed dogs
The GCCF was founded in London on October 11, 1910. It issues a pedigree certificate signed by the breeder showing at least three generations. It will show the cats’ registered names, their registration numbers, and their GEMS codes (shorthand code for their breed), a registration document for the kitten showing the pedigree name, registration number, GEMS code, parents names, and other information.
So, without these certificates do you really have a pedigree, or an inbred pedigree looking pet?
There are so many cats and dogs in rescue centres in Macau that are looking for a loving home and so many strays in the streets that need to be rescued, so please think about them if you want a pet before lining the pockets of pet shop owners.
This article has taken me much longer than usual to write as when I started it my big boy Moon decided he wanted a cuddle, when he had had enough, he jumped down and I now have a purring black ball of fur sitting on my lap demanding cuddles. Ex street cats Moon and Nyx and their six friends are loving and loved. They are grateful for being rescued from the mean streets. So, if you want a pet adopt, don’t shop!
Photo: Lesley Wells
