Smokey the Cat

I am posting this entry from my mother in laws house in Oya, Sarawak using Celcom Vodafone USB modem. What a wonder of broadband technology ! because if you have ever come to Oya you will never imagine that you can have internet access here. So another point is that Oya is not that remote now and you can always check your email and post a blog from Oya.

In my preparation to move to Dubai, my wife and I had made another difficult decision for both of us. We have a cat which we love so much and which we treat like our child. His name is Smokey and he is a domestic long hair (DLH) cat. DLH is a generic category for non-pure breed Persian cat. I learnt that if I don't have a proper breeding certificate, I must not call my cat a Persian cat. That is the standard in the cat breeding industry. Well....enough about that.

Smokey

To ease the burden of my wife in raising Adrin alone for a couple of months, we decided to surrender Smokey to my wife's niece who we affectionately called Adik Umik (in Melanau means a little sister). We selected Adik Umik because she is well known for her passion and love for cats. She should be the right candidate to take care of Smokey after this.

But Adik Umik is in Oya, Sarawak. So I have to transport Smokey by air to Sarawak. At first I thought I just bring Smokey with us when we come to Sarawak for Hari Raya. After all Sarawak is just another state in Malaysia like Selangor, Perak and Pahang. But it is not as easy as I thought. Apparently exporting a cat to Sarawak requires import and export permit from the Department of Animal Services. It is almost like the procedure for exporting a cat to a foreign country.

Below is the list of procedures for exporting a cat to Sarawak:-

1) An Import Permit must be obtained from Department of Animal Services Sarawak. The cost is RM5.00. So Adik Umik's father have to get this done first;
2) A copy of Import Permit must be faxed to Kuala Lumpur for the application of Export Permit from Department of Animal Services Kuala Lumpur;
3) For the application of Export Permit, Smokey must obtain a Health Certificate from a qualified veterinar. The cost is around RM150.00 depending on Smokey's health conditions;
4) Once Health Certificate and a copy of Import Permit are obtained, Smokey must be brought to Department of Animal Services Kuala Lumpur for inspection. If Smokey passed, Export Permit will be issued. The cost is RM31.00;
5) After Export Permit is obtained, purchase flight ticket from Malaysia Airlines. AirAsia do not allow transportation of animal in its services. Malaysia Airlines also need to know the dimension of the cage before they can issue ticket. The cost of airfare is RM15.00 per kg of the cat and cage;
6) Smokey can be transported with human company (hand carry) or by cargo. If by cargo then upon arrival Smokey will be greeted by a designated recipient in Sibu (Adik Umik's father) and veterinary officers. After custom clearance, Smokey will be deported to Bintulu Quarantine Centre;
7) Quarantine of animal from Kuala Lumpur may take up to 6 months. But if Smokey's condition is satisfactorily he can be released after 2 weeks. The Quarantine Centre will call Adik Umik to come and collect Smokey from the centre.

I briefed the procedures above to Adik Umik's father and expected him to be surprised and declined to take Smokey. But to my surprise he just replied "Ok..". HUh....He really loves his daughter that much ! And I am more convinced to have selected the right people.

Adik Umik

As every cat owner knows, nobody owns a cat
Ellen Perry Berkeley
Cat Writer and Specialist