Pets in the Philippines

I have rottweilers love them to death!

I have six adult cats. Five of them are the surviving offsprings from two pregnancies of one of the female cats. (The mommy cat is on my profile pic.) As a kitten, she often strayed into my shop and neighboring shops looking for scraps. She was an affectionate and playful kitten.

I set up a feeding area, got some cat food, and set up a litter box. Eventually, she stopped going to the other shops. One morning as I opened shop, I found a dead rat on top of my office welcome mat, which I assumed was her way of saying that she has picked me as her human, and that this was going to be more-or-less a permanent relationship.

After my cat gave birth, I brought her and her litter home, and inquired about having her spayed. The vet next door to my work wanted to charge around to PhP4k for cat spaying. I tried looking online for free or discounted spaying / neutering and found PAWS. I called them many times, and they said they would call me back for a schedule, but they never did. Soon my cat was in estrus again, escaped out of the house, and got pregnant again.

After her second kitten birth, I found a vet in Bulacan who does cat spaying for PhP2,000 and neutering for PhP1,500. Plus around PhP200 for antibiotics and pain relievers. I had all our cats spayed / neutered once they were old enough to go through the procedure.

We probably spend at least PhP3,500 / month in food and other items for our six cats. A sack of Whiskas dry food (7kg, we look for one with an extra 1kg) is around PhP960. A large can of Whiskas wet food: PhP66. A bag of cat litter: PhP200.

We often go to Pet Express to get cat stuff. They have a wider selection of pet items than supermarkets, including dry cat food in bulk and stuff like cat treats and scratching posts. They also have grooming service for dogs.

Even when we were kids, my husband and I both leaned towards adopting mixed breed pets that were "unwanted", such as extra puppies from neighbors, cats from animal shelters, etc., than buying pure breed pets.

There's an expat on this site: rpmiller . He lives in Tagaytay. A few months ago, he had a pet rescue project and with the help of a vet, had his rescued animals spayed / neutered at a lower cost. I'm not sure if his project is on going. If you'd like to have a pet, and at the same time, give a fellow expat a hand, try contacting him.

I brought one small dog with me from Australia. It was expensive to transport him. He required the usual vet clearances and vaccinations, worming and flea bath with extra vaccinations required for rabies, etc. as we do not have that in Australia.
A very specific type of dog crate had to be used and the dog had to be transported using one of the specialised pet transportation companies.
It was very easy to obtain the animal import certificate from the Philippines and being able to take the dog immediately without having to be held in quarantine was fantastic (although running from one department to the other making payments once arrived in Manila was quite the hassle!).

I also have a labrador which we adopted here in the Philippines. He was very sick with blood poisoning and liver damage from tick bites as well as having worms. He also had many bald spots and irritated skin from being chained and on concrete or in a cage all of his life. After much love and many trips to the vet, I am happy to say he is now thriving and a bundle of energy. He loves his new found freedom of being able to roam in our yard all of the time!

I had a good dog. It died 2 weeks ago. I took it to the vet for a shot. I swear he got a airbubble in the needle. It died 6 hours later. Normal shot. She only barked if someone she did not know was in the yard. She was great with younger kids. If she heard kids outside & you opened the door she would rush it to be out with them. They liked her. Great ball returner she was. Black & white looked like a terrier. But bigger & a curved tail.  Her Mom was the local street mutt. She had 2 pups. I stole 1 from her. First time I grabbed her she near bit me. 1/2 wild. But she soon found house living was better than being on the street & settled right in. She was easy to house break also. I am looking for another dog. Native dogs here do ok. But the heat & mange is a problem for pure breeds here. Or it appears so to me.

We have 3 dogs and 3 cats each with a name and differing personality. All were rescued and our latest was left in the road to die, she couldn't stand up and lifting with a floor mat to encourage her limbs to move.
We love our pets and allow them the freedom of the yard sad to see that most Filipinas  give their dogs "life sentences" and keep them in small cages, hosing them down every morning with the hosepipe.
Yes the dogs bark at visitors but don't bite and I can sit on the floor with them and put my arms wound their necks.
Coming home or first thing in the morning they all greet us with wagging tails and licking us.
I do some "Push-ups" in the kitchen whilst the kettle boils for tea and have my head licked......not true that dog spit makes hair grow!

I bring my baby rottweiler everywhere I can bring him; I am researching now how I can bring him from island to island in the Visayas; everyone who met him were initially scared of him then afterwards they became curious why he is very gentle; my only answer is that he is never caged; he sleep on my bed; well fed and given  vitamins;

My other babies, a native dog barbie dear, 2 shitsu as they are lovingly called barang and bebang are well pampered  and once in a month they go to salon in sm n.

When I am feeling tired, I just play with them and or just look at them and I get my inspiration from them.

Cynthia,  Rottweilers can grow to large sizes and do not need vitamins to grow well just a balanced diet. You will have trouble holding them when out walking and find that they take you where they want to go. I had a lady friend who was pulled over on the street! The answer is a special collar that is in the form of a muzzle and has a connection under the mouth. Sheila our friend uses this to take her dog out and can hold him.

Not caging a dog makes a big difference.  Ours before she died. Stayed in the house till she heard the preschoolers outside. Then she would romp with them or just lay in the shade & watch them. She was good with young kids.  At night she sleep on the outside balcony were she could walk around the house & keep a eye on the yard. If she barked there was something in the yard. Or some one. At night. She was a good dog. If we were gone for the day she was put up on the balcony. She never made a mess there. Had room to walk around the house.

I feel we are the luckiest people because we know how to love our furry friends!

Hi yes some Rottweiler can be a handful; but mine is well trained; he is my poodle; I had him when he was only less than 2 months old. he has been in company of many people;

But some people do not consider that Rottweilers can be difficult, they just find them cute when they were just babies until they become an adult; and unless you know how to handle them. this kind of breed will become vicious.

Thank you for the reminder.

When the bitches are in "heat" Cynthia no amount of training will stop him and dragging you with him!

I have an 8 year old Golden Retriever...she is so active, very lovable. I always wish her longer lifespan. I also have a Beagle who passed away in 2014...it broke my heart...the thought of rainbow bridge brought back my smiles.

And yes, my sis brought an Alascan Malamute puppy from USA, costs her Php 200k plus...but sad to say, her son wasnt able to keep up with taking care of the dog as the weather here is terrible for the dog.

Its the heat of course so why not remove all the thick hairy coat, at least it allows the dog to survive although not looking like the original.

We have to be realistic that when we bring dogs coming from cold climate, they should be given an environment similar to that.

Sad really sad....

Yep,  you're right...thats the best thing they can do:)

Yes I love that thought of the Rainbow Bridge; I will sure be happy to be there with my pets who passed away.

If dogs were licenced it would cause a controlling system and breeds with heavy hairy coats would be prevented from entering the Philippines. I see the "Chows" sometimes with their thick fluffy coats and its obvious that it isn't suitable for the tropics, why do people cause their animals so much suffering?

Selfishness as simple as that!

Yes, and it cost much to bring one here in the Philippines. The dog should also have an implanted chip in the nape before leaving US plus with all those vet certs. I dont think the Philippines has those chips in their dogs, thats very uncommon here. My sis told me that the fare is like a one adult passenger.

About selfishness, my neighbor have dogs but doesnt feed them on regular basis and just roam in our street with those little puppies following...seeing those pups starving, I give them food...now,when I am home...they knocked at my gate, like climbing and crying....I wish there are animal rescue here just like in other countries. My selfish neighbor just want dogs to guard their house,just leave them unleashed to roam around. I pity those local dogs called "askal" treated unfairly being low class...but geez, those askals are our very own native dogs.

Hey ! im located in philippines in clark-pampanga area
looking forward so muchh to adopt a cat !!!! as far as im gonna be here for long time and i find it very hard to find small kitten to adopt (or buy?!)
anyway i see that you have 6 cats already id like to know if one of them maybe about to have some babies or if you know place for cat adoption

thank you very much

Amazing Job opportunity! wrote:

Hey ! im located in philippines in clark-pampanga area
looking forward so muchh to adopt a cat !!!! as far as im gonna be here for long time and i find it very hard to find small kitten to adopt (or buy?!)
anyway i see that you have 6 cats already id like to know if one of them maybe about to have some babies or if you know place for cat adoption

thank you very much

My 6 cats cannot make babies anymore. They've been spayed / neutered.

One of the expats here, rpmiller, rescues animals and finds homes for them (though I'm not sure if he's still doing that). Here's an old post / ad about his kittens. His cats are not kittens anymore by now, but he might have other kittens.
https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=594461

Try sending him a private message. He lived in Tagaytay, as of his last post, which is quite far from your location. But look around your area first.

Most pets are not spayed / neutered by their owners here in the Philippines. Your neighbors might have a nursing cat whose little kitten you can adopt when it's ready.

Or try googling: animal shelters in Philippines, and you will find a list of animal shelters from where you can adopt a kitten.