Adopting a pet in Indonesia

Indonesia has a lot of street cats or "kucing kampung" as we call them. There are some female cats in our street and also some male cats and one particular female cat is always giving birth so there are plenty of kittens around, although most of them don't survive the careless motorbikes and cars that drive a too fast.

Well my wife adopted one of those kittens when it was about 4 months old. She used to feed it all the time and one day asked me if we could bring it in which I agreed to. We took it to the vet, got it's teeth seen to, de-wormed and in December had her neutered. We also take her for grooming and claw clipping once or twice a month. Now she is a well fed healthy cat of about 10 months and having a very nice lifestyle compared to before. The kids love her too and she has full run of the house and is part of the family.

I used to be a dog lover, but too lazy to take them for walks each day and dogs stink when wet and only poop outdoors on the street or in the park, so although loyal and friendly, they are not as independent as cats and we are not prepared to take care of a dog. I've had dogs when I was young, my family's first dog was called Dougal which we named after the dog in the Magic Roundabout children's program in England.

We also have an indoor garden with a fish pond with about 30 or so fish and they are really easy to take care of. Also one Siamese fighting fish which we keep separate in a fish bowl.

It depends in which part of Indonesia you will stay, if you will stay around Jakarta and the near areas like Cibubur, it won't be that hard to have a fluffy companion, because there are few pet shops and salons around Jakarta and the near areas, about the price, it depends on the breed type whether your fluffy companion would need specific treatment and diet.  One thing for sure it will be more expensive than your own living allowance

Feel free to contact "The Bali Dog" on facebook or @thebalidog on instagram and they will be able to talk you through a lot of a the challenges and procedures. Wishing you all the best!

Anyway, two months after your initial post, yes all our pets are still with us. Our cat is already larger than her mother is, because we feed her well and her mother eats food from the rubbish bins or from whoever gives her food. The mother seems always to be pregnant again and again as there are lots of toms but only her and maybe one other female cat. We are thinking of getting her neutered after her two current kittens get a little bigger. Our cat is about a year old so we have more choice of food for 1+ years of age. Also we are giving her all the leftovers such as chicken breast bones and cartilage with some chicken meat and also salmon skin with a little salmon which she adores. We also give her the heads of the tiny fish that we sometimes eat with chili, and she loves having a variety of foods.

The good thing about pets is that they are great for kids and for the family as a whole.
And cats in particular are just so great and easy to take care of and very loving and and faithful and playful.

A few days ago we made the decision to get the mother of our current cat neutered. Today a cat activist who happens to be a Gojek rider came and tried to catch the cat but it was too difficult. However, she did manage to pick up the two kittens and took them to a vet for de-worming and to get cleaned up. We also now have medicine for the kittens immune system. One of the kittens has quite serious flu and had her eyes quite infected and dirty so we thought we'd act quickly before she dies. Anyway, both kittens we returned early this evening and the treatment and medicine cost just Rp100k totally. Both kittens are now living in our indoor garden. I also drove to the local pet shop to buy another litter tray, milk substitute, feeding bowls and kitten food. As I speak, the kittens are fast asleep on a cushion in their new little house in the garden.

The cat activist is going to return tomorrow to try to catch the mother cat with a net and will then take her to be neutered. We spoke to our neighbours and the Chairman and all are happy that we are doing this. The cost is only Rp150k for the operation and we are happy to pay that.