I’ve heard about pet passport for a few years but I have never gotten the motivation to do so until I got my very own pet cat. When I got Luna a couple of weeks ago, I came across a few news articles talking about it. Seems like it is still a hot topic after all!
Getting a Malaysian pet passport is the most crucial step for travelling with your pet and even if you don’t have the intention to do that, you should still get a passport+microchip instead of just a microchip. Reason? It’s way cheaper to do so. Besides, it keeps track of all the vaccination, deworming, deticking and other information in one spot. It would possibly make the process of getting your pet an airline ticket easier too.Â
You can get microchip with almost every vet available in Malaysia but the thing is, they cannot issue passports. Perhaps not all of the vets. There is a list of registrar available on the official PetPassport website by DVS but after texting a few vets to confirm, I found that they do not issue passports at all. This concludes that if you want a pet passport, it is always the right choice to go straight to DVS instead. (Their website doesn’t seem to be updated frequently btw.)
The Pet Passport is an official document of the Malaysian Government under the Malaysian Animal Traceability System (MATs) Project. This Passport organised by Department of Veterinary Services Malaysia (DVS) under the Provision of Animal Act 1953.
By getting a pet passport, you will be able to trace your (lost, etc) pet easily, prove that you’re the actual owner, and group all of the vital and important information about your pet in one place. Not all animals can get a passport though. Pets that are eligible for a pet passport is limited to cats, dogs, rabbits and horses. Essentially, the main objective of this program is to help in disease control, improve animal traceability system, promote pet ownership responsibility, and promote awareness in animal welfare.
DVS branches are located in many different states. In Kuala Lumpur, the DVS is located at the Hospital Veterinar Cheras (WPKL). For Selangor, the DVS is located in Shah Alam. The Cheras branch is fairly close to my house, just 15 mins away. They have a very specific opening hour so you have to make sure you plan your day correctly. I took a whole day off just to settle my new kitten.
I got it done during CMCO, which means the crowd is far lesser than usual. However, it is also because of CMCO that they would take in only 15 patients a day. I was advised by the hospital to go before 8am to get a number. The staff also advised that if the hospital is unable to get to you on time (during the morning session), you may have to return during the afternoon session to continue waiting for treatment.
Day | Morning Session | Afternoon Session |
|---|---|---|
Mondays to Wednesdays | 8–11:45am | 2–3:30pm |
Thursdays to Fridays | 8–11:45am | Closed |
Saturdays, Sundays, Public Holidays | Closed | Closed |
Steps
Now, my experience is with a 3mth old (1.4kg) kitten. If you have a big dog or a horse, there might be more steps to do. I had never gotten a passport for my dogs (only license), so I can’t really advice much on what to do with larger pets. Otherwise, it should be the same for all cats, rabbits and smaller-middle sized dogs. Anyway, the whole process is really simple and I had made sure to taken photos so that it’s easier for you to visualize what you will be experiencing soon.
You don’t need to make an appointment in order to get a pet passport because they would only do walk-in on a first-come-first-served basis. In order to ensure you get a number, it is advisable to reach before 8am and get your first number from the guard. I got a lucky number 7 for my first visit. Neat!
There are plenty of free parking spots inside and outside of the hospital but would be different if MCO is not in place. It is always safer to reach earlier!
When you first enter the building, you will need to obtain a headcount number from the security guard by the door. Only one person is allowed at the moment. Your companion will have to wait by the bench outside or in the car.Â
The headcount number tag should look like this. You don’t need to specify what treatment you want to get. That will be for the ladies by the counter. I got a lucky number seven!
By the way, they only accept cash (unfortunately). Make sure you brought enough cash and even changes because they don’t hold a lot of cash within the counter.
Once their working hours start, the counter staffs will be calling out numbers to their counter. They will ask you why you are here. If you are new to the facility and/or your pet has not been registered before, they will do that for you.Â
After your profile has been settled, they will request you to take another set of number from the ticketing machine by the side. There will be 2 tickets per number. Make sure you take both of them!
Depending on your number, if you are the 4th person or after, you may have to wait for an hour. I waited until slightly over 1 hour before it was my turn. Anyway, even though you had provided your particulars to the counter staff already, they would still require you to fill up another form. I’m covering my details with my cat’s first vaccine leaflet because I forgot to take a photo of the form before filling in my particulars. I was too nervous because I put Luna on the chair whilst I went to the counter.
Once your number has been called, head to this direction and look for the room number that is allocated for your ticket number. When you have located the room, just walk in. The doctor and the nurse will be waiting for you inside.
Out of respect for the doctor and nurse, I did not take any photos inside of the treatment room. Basically, they would ask you if you are neutering your pet because there’s a section for that, which has to be specified. I told her that I don’t want Luna to be neutered yet and they proceeded to take a photo for her passport.
The doctor and the nurse were superb and friendly! I’m always intimidated by government staffs but they made me feel very comfortable. They helped me to pose the cat but since Luna was too active, I had to do it for them. The doctor tried but every photo was a fail and then the nurse stood in. Both of them used their phone and finally managed to get one photo (which you will see later).
Afterwards, they would proceed with the microchip insertion. I personally found it cute when the doctor prayed twice before proceeding: once while she was spraying antiseptic and once before poking the needle in. Luna was surprisingly calm, even the med staffs were shocked. Once the procedure is over, they would head to the backend to issue the passport and you can return to the counter for payment with your cat.
The time used for them to issue the passport was quite short. It took about 20 minutes or less to pay and then get the passport. When I get the total bill, I was expecting it to be around RM80+ but it turned out to be RM45! This is so much cheaper than getting just the microchip (without a passport) outside! One of the vets told me that it costs RM90 for only the microchip insertion.Â
This is why I encouraged everyone to get a passport even though you are not travelling but this is not the only good reason. Within the passport, there are four different sections for recording: vaccination, rabies vaccination, deticking, and deworming.
Now let’s say you want to redo your passport at some point. The fee should be as illustrated below. Now, this is taken from their website and the fee does not include a microchip, physical examination and picture.
Pet Card | Fee (RM) |
|---|---|
Cat | 7.00 |
Dog | 7.00 |
Rabbit | 7.00 |
Horse | 9.00 |
So this is what the pet passport looks like. It has a blue paperback cover with gloss finishing on the outer side. It is not as thick as our own passport though.
On the first page, it has information about the pet, which is similar to a human’s passport. They will also have the microchip’s number and the pet’s passport photo on it. If you want to make your own photo, you can do so but it is important to keep the background blue. You can send your own photo to the nurse for them to upload into their system for issuing the passport. Make sure that your cat’s body showing fully on one side and her face should be towards you.Â
Clearly, Luna’s photo is a bad example but you get the idea. I wish I would’ve known about it because the photo came out blurry and it somehow made a lot of people laugh (which is a good thing!) I kind of just wish the photo would look better tho.Â
The next pages are for recording purposes. Your vet should know how to fill up these pages when they are medicating your pets.
If your pet has a record leaflet like mine, they would staple it to the back as well. I personally don’t like it but then it makes it easier to keep everything in one place.
That’s all for making a pet passport! It’s really that simple. Once you are done with the whole process, just drive out and head home!
In Short
Why you should do a petpassport?
1. The pricing is still reasonable at the moment. You get to have a passport and microchip for RM45. Private vets could charge around RM90 for just a microchip.
2. Keep all recording in one spot! Within the passport, there are four different sections for recording: vaccination, rabies vaccination, deticking, and deworming. There are also sections for Rabies Serological Test, In Case of a Further Test, and Animal Movement Information at National Entry/Exit Point.Â
3. In case you decided to travel with your pet, you don’t have to panic for not having a Malaysian Animal Identification Card on hand.
4. You can proudly show off your pet’s Malaysian Citizenship.Â
TLDR on the whole process
- Prepare CASHÂ because of cash-only. Make sure you have small enough changes.
- Be there before 8am for the ticket number and free parking.
- No appointments to be made / walk-in only.
- Get ready to stay there for a couple of hours.
- Register, fill up a form, get a microchip, and get a photo taken.
- Make payment and collect passport within 20mins timeframe.
Where to get Pet Passport?
DVS HQ
Not available, as advised by DVS themselves on their IG account, reposting of my IG post.Â
DVS WPKL (Cheras)
Hospital Veterinar Wilayah Persekutuan
Km. 4, Jalan Selar 4 off Jalan Cheras,
56100 Cheras, Kuala Lumpur
Tel : 03-92849716/18
Fax : 03-92849717
DVS Selangor
Jabatan Perkhidmatan Veterinar Negeri Selangor
Lot 2 Jalan Utas 15/7
40630 Shah Alam
Selangor
Tel: 603 55103900
Fax: 603 55103903
Not from KL or Selangor? Search for the DVS in your state via the first button below! You can try to contact other vets but base on my experiences, they do not have the facility to issue pet passports. I would suggest you to go to DVS instead, which all of the DVS branches can be found in the second button.
I hope this is helpful for you! Quite excited to see your pet’s passport photo too! Do share with me when you get a petpassport for your furkid!
