Ani Suzila (second from left) with her family and some of their cats. — Photos: ANI SUZILA ANAS
When your household includes more than 20 felines, you’d need more than love, willpower and manpower.
“You need good management and proper delegation,” says Ani Suzila Anas, 52, mother of three children aged 13 to 20 from Subang Jaya, Selangor.
The senior manager says living with 27 cats has taught the family about the importance of organisation and discipline.
“We have to create a schedule to ensure that each cat is given attention and care to keep the cats happy and healthy. We have specific duties from feeding and cleaning to grooming and nursing, assigned to each child,” she adds.
Her youngest son Anas Faheem Mohd Fadzli, 13, is in charge of feeding the cats, while her only daughter Alani Farissa, 18, cleans their litter boxes.
“Since my eldest Aniq Fikri, 20, can already drive, he is responsible for buying their food and taking them to the veterinarian,” Ani Suzila says.
Not all children, however, likes having a pet. For Eccma Muna Norizad, 18, her interest in looking after one only happened last year.
“She only showed her interest as a responsible pet owner when we took in Wakanda, our ball python pet in May last year,” says her mother Yusliza Yahya, 51, of her only child.
The reptile, however, is not the family’s first pet. The teacher from Sungai Buloh, Selangor says her family first had rabbits for a year some 12 years ago. Then, in 2014, they had cats for two years.
“At that time Eccma wanted to have pets, and those four-legged furry animals were irresistibly adorable. She was drawn to their cuteness and fluffy fur,” she says.
Unfortunately, Yusliza says, her daughter was scared to hold them, which prevented her from taking on the responsibility of taking care of them. Yusliza ended up caring for the animals.
“However, when we agreed to have Wakanda, she showed her keen interest to take on the duty of taking care of him. In fact, she is so close to him that she treats him like her little brother,” she adds.
Even though her 10-month old African python does not need much caring, Yusliza says her daughter gladly takes on the duty of feeding him every fortnight, either at home or at an exotic pet shop.
“In fact, she has started to learn more about the reptile, its behaviour and other family members,” Yusliza says.
Yusliza and Wakanda, her 10-month old African ball python. — Photos: YUSLIZA YAHYA
Building character
More than the joy of having a companion animal, pet ownership is tremendously beneficial for children’s development, says Rekindle Therapy clinical psychologist Nadia Azmie.
“Aside from the well-known benefit of teaching them a sense of responsibility, having pets contributes to fostering a trusting relationship, forming healthy emotional attachment, teaching compassion and empathy and developing effective non-verbal communication among young children,” she says.
Caring a pet, Nadia adds, helps develop better social skills, which in turn will boost the child’s self-esteem and confidence. And because parents and children work together to look after a pet, this will also improve the relationship among family members.
“Looking after Wakanda helps build Eccma’s confidence. I can see that she’s more self-assured now and is comfortable and proud of being herself,” says Yusliza.
Through pet ownership, Nadia says children are exposed to experiential lessons in life through witnessing birth, reproduction, illnesses, death and grief. “Coping with these changes builds more respect and compassion for other living beings,” she adds.
Ani Suzila agrees. “Being surrounded by cats has also made my children more compassionate towards others, with a deep sense of empathy and kindness. They are kind not only to cats, but to other animals too.”
She says the family makes it a point to keep kibbles in the car so that they can feed stray cats when they see them. “Sometimes, my children even help find homes for these strays,” she adds.
Nadia says pet ownership is tremendously beneficial for children’s development. — NADIA AZMIE
Positive coping mechanism
In her work with young children and adolescents, Nadia says she has observed a substantial impact of pet ownership on their coping mechanisms. “Pets often serve as a protective factor for them. These animals provide constant presence when they face adversity and bring a sense of consistency when they are dealing with a multitude of uncertainties,” she adds.
Their presence helps reduce stress and anxiety, says Ani Suzila, who has been keeping cats for 10 years when her friend gifted her family a pair of Bengal cats.
“I remember when I had just returned home from a surgery, one of the cats climbed onto the bed and sat next to me. It was rare because she didn’t usually come to me. It was really heartwarming,” she says.
Nadia says keeping with the routine of maintaining the pets’ needs also helps the child to regulate their behaviour and expectations of their daily activities.
“In many cases, pets often act as a reminder for these children to keep going and resist from succumbing to their destructive urges because their pets depend on them,” she says.
Ani Suzila says there is a strong emotional bond between her children and the cats. “Children often observe and respond to their pets’ behaviour while the pets offer unconditional love and acceptance. This helps the kids develop a sense of security and attachment.”
“My youngest child always has Huskie to keep him company at night while Abel is attached to my daughter and prefers to stay in her room,” she adds.
Parents play an important role to optimise the benefits of pet ownership. — The Stargraphics
Potential drawbacks
While pet ownership has a string of positive impacts, Yusliza says, it is important that parents ensure their children take the ownership seriously. “Taking care of another life is a huge responsibility and the lesson will only be learned if the children commit to it,” she says.
Nadia says there are multiple factors that need to be considered before adopting a pet into the family as pet keeping can be a difficult addition to the family.
When faced with challenging pet behaviours including aggression, inappropriate elimination or destructive behaviours, she says, the general stress level in the household may escalate.
“How the parents react to these challenges may impact the child’s future behaviours.
Children learn tremendously through social learning and observation. They tend to copy and recreate others’ behaviours towards animals,” she adds.
Nadia says if the children are not taught or shown how to effectively and respectfully interact with the animals early on, they may mimic harmful behaviour and even mistreat these pets.
Another factor to consider, Nadia says, is the trauma of losing a pet on these young children’s mental health.
“With the sudden loss of their pet, children are faced with grief and bereavement at an early age. Considerations need to be taken in monitoring the children’s psychological reactions to the death of their animal companions which can be akin to losing an important family member,” she adds.
Ani Suzila has a different opinion. She says despite the challenges, the benefits of having pets far outweigh the drawbacks.
“Our home is always filled with laughter, joy, and a lot of fur. Our cats bring endless entertainment and companionship into our lives,” she concludes.
