SPCA Kota Kinabalu



After days of being bug by my impatient daughter who wanted to visit this place many eons ago (in her own words), on fine Saturday we finally made the trip to this center.





Of course, we started the trip by getting lost. The address they sent to me via text message was wrong. It wrote left turn instead of right so we ended up at Inanam. I almost gave up and go home but my persistent side kick kept on insisting that it must be today or it will be the end of the world. So I got the car to turn around and off we went for another try.

If you are coming from KK town, head down to Bukit Padang, pass Nelayan Restaurant on your left and go up the hill. You will pass a Chinese Temple on your right as you come down the hill and eventually end up on to a T junction. At this junction, take the right turn. If you take the left then you will become lost like me.


Drive along this road, until you see Shangrila Country Homes on your right and further down a Hitachi Tractor Workshop on your left. Beside the Hitachi Tractor Workshop is a road called Jalan Lomunu. This is the road that will lead you to the SPCA Center.

The road leading to the SPCA is on gravel, can be muddy and very narrow. There are certain parts of it where you will be praying no other cars are heading towards you because this road cannot fit two cars parallely.


We were warmly greeted with loud barking from our furry best friends. There were twenty or more dogs barking at one time. It is definitely not easy to sneak in here without being detected. Almost one hundred canine noses will sniff you out before you can even say boo.


We started our tour by getting a glimpse at the puppies. Cuddly wagging tailed pups greeted you without a single bark. There were black, brown and spotted ones. There were so many of them. Our SPCA tour guide told us that one of them has already been booked and will moving to its new home soon. Of course it was the nicest looking pup that was adopted. The only white pup. I wondered what will happen to the not so nice looking ones. Will they ever get a chance to live in a nice home where they will be loved like a dog deserved to be?


As we continued to walk around the compound peering into the cages that held the bigger dogs, the barking continued to follow us.

It was finally a sigh of relief when we got to the cattery and the barking slowly diminished.  Peace again.


What amazes me about the cattery is how clean and quiet it is here. No feline smell and no crazy meowing from the 60 over cats living inside.

Of course my side kick was overjoyed to see so many cats and kittens in one place. Spontaneously she offered to volunteer helping out at the center during the school break. Trying to be the encouraging mom and hiding my skeptical thought about this sudden burst of initiative from my daughter, I told her to give it a one day tryout first. I am not totally convinced she would be able to do this daily work of feeding the cats and cleaning the litter boxes everyday. She barely lifted a spatula at home; have to drag herself to finish her chores and grumbles when you ask her to pick up her cloths off the floor. Nah, I am not convinced.


As we walk back to our car, we witness a brown dog climbing easily over a 5 feet high fence. It was amazing. According to the care taker, this dog is notorious for escaping the compound. It seemed no fences can keep this dog in or should say out.

Feeling hot and thirsty after our tour, we decided to head down to City Mall for a bite. We pick The Olde Station Kopitiam for our stop. It is famous for their snack food and my favorite is their Chinese popiah using freshly made soft, thin paper-like crepe or pancake made from wheat flour. The fillings were chunky and very crunchy as well as tasty. One roll is enough to fill me up. I also ordered their soya bean with grass jelly (leong fun). My favourite side kick stuck to cola. I suggested a float, frosty juice or smoothie mocha but she insisted on cola. Just plain ole cola. Sigh.