She recalled her mother’s reaction one day when seeing her cradling a box in her arms while waiting to be picked-up from school. “Don’t tell me, it’s kittens.” And she was right.
Her parents did not discourage their soft-hearted daughter and throughout her teen years, Mia cared for many stray kittens.
Today, the 30-year-old is a member of the Malaysia Animal Association, and has supported the organisation by donating funds and volunteering her services.
When a friend complained about how his cat was lethargic and barely eating, Mia knew something was amiss and advised him to take his cat to the veterinary clinic at once. As it turned out, the cat had a severe kidney condition and due to Mia’s intervention, the cat is alive and healthy today.
This incident got her thinking that providing a good home for her pets and volunteering at animal shelters wasn’t enough – she needed to raise awareness about pet neglect.
Since social media had worked so well to promote her fitness business, she decided to use the same platform to promote animal advocacy.
She said animal lovers needed to be educated about every aspect of pet ownership so that they made informed decisions, and chose the right pets that suited their personality and lifestyles.
“It’s not cheap,” she said of the expense that goes into caring for a pet. Besides buying them good food, visits to the vet were also costly.
Mia explained that pets have complex emotional needs that pet owners must be aware of. She related how one of her dogs once pretended his paw was hurt because all he wanted was her attention. “Dogs are very smart,” she said.
She added that she is deeply troubled at how badly dogs are treated in Malaysia, and said that the lack of understanding about dog behaviour was the main contributing factor.
Mia said it was wrong to harm a dog just because it barked at you. “Most dogs have been abused by humans so they are scared,” she said, explaining that approaching them calmly and speaking softly showed them that you were not a threat.
Another thorn in her side was how many people imported breeds that were unsuited for Malaysia’s hot and humid weather. “When you take cold weather dogs or furry cats and keep them in Malaysia, then the pet will not be able to survive. It will die.”
She said that in Malaysia, many furry pets best suited for cold climates were abandoned after a while simply because the cost of keeping them in air-conditioned rooms all day proved too costly for their owners.
“Their fur starts falling out and they’re no longer cute so they get dumped,” she said, adding that pets are not props for nice photos.
She also had a bone to pick with potential adopters who only wanted certain breeds from among the cats and dogs she fostered. “If you really cared about animals you wouldn’t care about the breed.”
She also disapproved of the buying of pets when there were so many strays and abandoned animals looking for forever homes.
Mia shares her home with six cats and three dogs. The dogs live outside and have the free run of her garden. She said they were all fosters before.
“I would say that I’m a failed foster parent.” She also explained that the ones she ended up adopting were those that needed the most help.
“It is not easy to find a home for even a perfect cat,” she said, which is why she would rather keep a disabled cat herself than let it go to a home where it might be mistreated or abandoned when the owners realised how much work went into caring for it.
“Pets are not toys. You have to treat them like family.”
She said her main aim in animal advocacy was to educate potential adopters that caring for a pet was a lifetime commitment. “This animal is going to live with you till their last breath, you have to really be sure you want to adopt it.”
Follow Mia Ghaus on Instagram to learn more about her animal advocacy work and her fitness business.