Over the last three weeks, with inputs from Paws for a Cause Guyana, our guest contributor to the “Pet Care” column, we have been advising on the VALUE of adopting/acquiring a companion animal in 2022.
This topic is of such seminal importance that I have written and spoken about it for decades. In my practice, I am often confronted with pet owners whose attention to their wards is limited to the occasion when the animals are near death (from any of a variety of maladies that were preventable), or brought in by Good Samaritans, who have found the animal that was deliberately strayed by an owner who simply got ‘fed up’ of the once playful puppy/kitten.
Thus, I have decided to dedicate a few more columns to deal with the practicalities and realities of adding a pet as a new member of one’s family. Apart from dogs, we shall also include considerations associated with cats and exotic and wild animals as pets.
Primarily, we do not wish the adoption to be a revolving door! When the adoptee meets the family for the first time, it must know that it has arrived at a permanent home.
It has been said that humankind is divided into two categories – those who love dogs and those who love cats. Well, whether you prefer the gratitude-showing, devoted, tail wagging dog or the independent, aloof feline with its quiet grace and mysterious charm, there are certain common activities that you, as owner/caregiver, must undertake if the pet is to be happy and secure.
All children love animals! Whether it is a child at Kabakaburi with his pet monkey or parrot, or the little city girl who just loves the newly acquired ball of fur and fun.
All animals require love unconditionally and infinitely. However, love alone will not keep the pet contented and healthy. As for all children, pet-rearing requires nurturing, nourishing and attention. However, unlike children, who will grow and become independent, pets require daily care throughout their lives. They need nutritious meals appropriate to their age/weight, grooming, exercise, and routine visits to the veterinarian.
As you consider your choice of pet, let me advise that although most animals can become pets, to a lesser or larger degree, one should refrain from keeping as pets those ‘exotic’ animals about which one knows very little. For example, one would have to understand the physiology and behavioural habits, as well as the nutritional requirements of snakes, if they are to be kept as pets. In fact, much debate can be generated as to whether monkeys or birds (macaws, parrots, etc.) or deer should be kept as pets at all.
How often have we not seen ‘Polly’ come into the clinic dehydrated and with lacklustre plumage due to poor feeding regimes, and with parasites abounding in her ungroomed feathers. Poor ‘Jacko’ the monkey, who is instinctively mischievous, harvests the wrath of his owner who, only a couple of months ago, adored his antics. The belt around his waist is tied tighter, the chain is made shorter, while intelligent “Jacko” beseeches the caregiver with his pitiful eyes for help. And “Bambi, the deer, invariably succumbs to a nutritional imbalance.
These occurrences are a reflection of poor management of these exotic animals, are inhumane, and are simply torture. As indicated above, we shall specifically discuss the issue of keeping wild animals as pets in future columns.
Now, let us look at our more common pets:
dogs and cats.
The situation here is also clear. If you, for example, have an allergy to fur, you should not keep cats. Cats are essentially house animals, and will shed hair everywhere, and in those places where the pointer broom or vacuum cleaner will not reach.
And if you wish to keep a dog, do you have enough yard space for its kennel and exercise?
Though cats and dogs are both four-footed and furry, they are vastly dissimilar in many aspects of their behaviour and needs. So please do your research; speak to fellow caregivers and your veterinarian when making a decision to adopt/acquire a canine or feline companion animal.
A dog craves your attention and affection. He will fawn over you, and his tail is the barometer expressing his happiness.
A cat, on the other hand, does not even remotely consider the need to please you. He/she is individualistic, full of surprises, and will show you love on his/her terms.
A dog is a mixer! A cat is a loner, and mixes only when it wants to.
So, as a potential caretaker, determine whether you want a dog, which will be more responsive, loyal, and affectionate to you, or whether your personality prefers the independent and more subtle and nuanced signs of affection of a cat. A scientific study done for the BBC in 2016, measuring the level of oxytocin (“love hormone”) in the saliva of cats and dogs before and after seeing their caregivers, concluded that dogs love their owners five times more than cats. I am sure many cat lovers would disagree. As I always advise, biology is a living science, and we can hardly expect exactitude on emotional studies. Nevertheless, I was tickled by the photograph below, which does tell a story!
Bottom line: do not take into your family a cat that you wish to act like a dog, or vice versa. No such animal exists.
Next week we shall deal with specific facts that must be considered before one adopts a companion animal.
