I spent the most of today searching for a kitten to adopt. After ‘booking’ one at the local AACL, I arrived to find that my kitten had already been adopted by another devoted pet owner. I then phoned around to the other local animal adoption agencies to find a cat (I was that determined to get one!) and I was certainly surprised.
Not only is kitten season not in full swing yet, but the prices of kittens from animal adoption agencies has skyrocketed since the last ‘kitten season’. The SPCA requires that you pay a R100-00 deposit, then they check out your home. If approved, you may then go and pick your kitten and pay the rest of the fee – R250-00. Initially I thought that this was a bit steep, but then I considered what was included…
- the first injections (usually about R200-00)
- the sterilization (also largely expensive)
- micro chipping (so that you can always find your cat if s/he goes missing)
Which means that you are not only saving money, but are purchasing a fail safe method of reuniting your family with your cat should it ever go missing.
Still, it seems excessive that you have to pay so much money, compared to the AACL who charge R150-00 or DARG who charge R250-00. On the other hand, shouldn’t these animal agencies just be trying to find good homes for their pets? And then, if you can’t afford to pay the R350-00, will you be able to give your cat such a good home? What happens if your cat is involved in an accident, or if it has to have special food? Perhaps this is another good reason why pet insurance is taking off locally.
