Pets in Albania

After taking Abby, my cat, to the vet yesterday, I thought I would write some about pets in Albania. First, pets are a relatively new phenomena in Albania. Most Albanians so not have pets and if they do it will never be allowed to enter their house. Few pets even have names. Since the fall of communism and the increased presence of western culture, more Albanians are starting to have pets, but many still think it is crazy that I have a cat. Pet stores have been springing up all over Albania in the last few years. One thing though, is that pet stores do not know quite how to sell the pets and how to hand them over to their new owners. Many pet stores will hand you your new pet in a plastic grocery bag. When a volunteer, here asked for a box instead of a bag the owner thought he was crazy and being difficult. He finally found a box and put two holes in it and then handed it to the volunteer with a perplexed look on it.

As pets are new in Albania, so are veterinarians. You can find them throughout Albania, but knowing if they truly know everything about animals is difficult. For more precise treatments, one usually goes to Tirana, where the vets are the best. So, this brings me to my story.

I learned that my kitten Abby worms. I needed to take her to the vet, so she could be looked at and treated. I tried to find a vet in Shkoder, but the only one I heard of almost killed a cat because they gave the wrong dosage to the cat. So, I opted for Tirana. That involved a 4½-hour bus ride there and another one back. Luckily I can do that in one day if I leave on the 5am bus. I, also, needed something to carry Abby in. I couldn’t find anything, but large cases or birdcages, so I put holes in a cardboard box and put Abby in it. I had to text the vet when I arrived and he came and picked me up. We walked to his office. This office consisted of one room, with a curtain that could act as a divider if they chose to close it. I put Abby in her box on the table, which was covered in rubber. All of the pills and utensils were on shelves at the back of the room. The fridge with the temperature specific drugs was an old white dorm room size fridge. The walls of the office were a dirty yellow. There were two pit bulls in the waiting section with their owners. It was a very interesting office. I wanted to get Abby fixed as well, but here in Albania, they go by age and not weight for deciding if a cat can be spayed. So, I have to wait until she is at least 9 months old, before I can do that. The doctor gave her the shot and a deworming pill and gave me some shampoo for her. And that was the end of our visit. It lasted all of 3 minutes.

Afterwards I went to a restaurant (and yes, they allowed me in the restaurant despite having a cat with me) and waited until I could go and catch the 12pm bus back to Fushe-Arrez.

Having a pet in Albania takes a lot of work. I have to go to Shkoder or Tirana to get litter and food. I have learned more about cats in the last three months than I learned in all of my previous life.