Moomtahina Mehnaz Aniva did not plan for five kittens. She just adopted Mithi, a desi cat, because she loved animals and thought a pet would make the apartment feel more alive. Mithi had other ideas. Five kittens later, Aniva and her family spent weeks finding each one a loving home through adoption. Then came Ori, a seven-month-old Persian, calm and affectionate where Mithi is restless. Then the budgerigars. Then the aquarium. "Having all of them around makes our home feel much happier," she says. "The cats are especially attached to my mother, who takes care of almost everything for them."
Dhaka was never a pet city. It is becoming one anyway, apartment by apartment, one adoption at a time. In small flats and family homes, among students living alone and households that swore they would only get one, the same thing keeps happening. The animals stay. The attachment grows. And an economy nobody quite planned for has built itself around both.
The numbers behind the affection
When DUCSU organised Dhaka University's first Pet Carnival at TSC in collaboration with the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock and Care DU, it was not just an event. It was a signal that pet culture had moved beyond individual households and into public cultural space, mainstream enough to warrant a university-level celebration.
According to research by Mohammad Abdul Saleque of ACI Limited, pet owners in Bangladesh have increased by 170 per cent over the last three years, with 90 per cent of those pets being cats.
The industry is estimated at over BDT 230 crore annually and is growing 10 to 15 per cent per year.
The cat food market alone is valued at BDT 5 billion, with BDT 4 billion met through imports primarily from China, Thailand, and Turkey.
The Department of Livestock recorded 32,156 tonnes of cat food imported in 2024-25.
Pet supplies are now available in over 4,000 pet shops across the country, where they were once confined to a handful of import sections in upscale supermarkets.
Nuclear families, rising rates of people living alone, and pandemic-era isolation have all pushed people toward animals as companions.
Social media accelerated the shift considerably, with Facebook communities like Cat Lovers BD, Dog Lovers Society, and Bangladesh Lovebird Society becoming active hubs for adoption, advice, and community.
Cats dominate because Dhaka's apartments demand it. Dogs need space and outdoor access that most flats cannot offer, making miniature breeds the practical choice for those determined to keep one.
Why people are choosing pets
The motivations vary, but their emotional core is consistent.
Mollika Mukherjee got River, her Japanese Spitz, on her therapist's recommendation during a severe depressive episode.
Living alone in a one-bedroom apartment, a miniature breed was the most practical option. "Dogs are incredibly loyal and are the perfect companions anyone could ask for," she says. "I am much happier than I was before."
Mahmuda Rahman, a travel agency owner, took a completely different route. She saw Shirooo on Facebook, fell in love, and brought her home the same week with no prior plan.
When she comes home after a long day, Shirooo jumps into her arms. "I think she is a member of my house, so she should be cared for just like the other members."
Sharmin Alam, who runs a homemade food business in Dhanmondi, keeps a myna and a quail and spends BDT 2,000 to 3,000 monthly on quality feed, supplements, and toys. The birds, she says, have given her daily routine a rhythm and her stress levels a reason to drop.
Mim, a student split between Dhaka and its outskirts, has five rescued and adopted deshi cats. "I would rather spend my money giving one of them a home than buy a foreign breed," she says.
Tahsin Jahan Siddika, living alone in Dhaka, bought budgerigars during the pandemic out of loneliness, including one disabled bird nobody else would take. When university forced her to leave them behind, they did not survive. "Due to lack of care, they eventually died." The sentence carries more weight than she gives it.
Veterinary professionals in Dhaka who have watched the shift from across the consultation table point to a consistent pattern.
People dealing with loneliness, mental health struggles, and the isolation of urban life are increasingly turning to pets to fill a gap that human connection has not been able to.
What it actually costs
Mollika's monthly costs stay under BDT 1,000, though vaccinations recently ran BDT 2,800.
Mim's five cats cost BDT 1,500 to 2,000 monthly. Mahmuda spends around BDT 4,000 on Shirooo, plus BDT 4,500 for home grooming sessions. Aniva's household spends around BDT 5,000 across all pets, with neutering and spaying recently adding BDT 8,000.
Private clinic consultations cost around BDT 600. Core vaccines run BDT 200 to 1,500. Neutering costs BDT 1,000 to 3,000; spaying BDT 1,500 to 4,000. Grooming sessions run BDT 2,000 to 5,000.
Government hospitals offer vaccinations at lower prices but do not typically perform surgical procedures on cats.
Bangladesh now has over 225 private pet clinics, most recently established and concentrated in Dhaka's wealthier neighbourhoods.
The industry's darker side
The growth of pet culture has not been matched by proportional growth in welfare standards. Sellers without licensing remain widespread. Markets like Katabon in Dhaka, where Mollika purchased River, have been flagged by animal welfare groups for keeping animals in cramped, inhumane conditions and trading in stolen animals.
Legitimate boarding facilities are rare and overwhelmed. Daily rates range from BDT 400 to BDT 2,500, yet during Eid-ul-Fitr one Gulshan facility turned away around 40 customers from a single branch despite being fully booked. For most pet owners, reliable boarding does not exist.
Many leave pets with neighbours or domestic help, with unpredictable results. Siddika's birds did not survive such an arrangement.
Mollika raises another gap few discuss openly: public transport in Dhaka is almost entirely pet-unfriendly.
The legal framework governing all of this is alarmingly thin. Bangladesh's Cruelty to Animals Act dates to 1920, with fines as low as BDT 100.
A new Animal Welfare Act has been cabinet-approved but not gazetted. Pet sellers face no licensing requirement, breeders face no welfare standards, and the sector has no regulatory oversight. Recent commentary from local media and animal welfare advocates has called for modernising Bangladesh's pet laws. At the same time, Bangladesh continues to operate under a colonial-era framework.
What the culture is really about
Aniva's cats greet her when she comes home. Sharmin's birds have changed her mornings. Mahmuda's Shirooo jumps into her arms at the end of every long day. Mollika is measurably happier than she was before River.
People needed something to come home to. In Dhaka, they found it. The economy will keep growing, and the welfare gaps will need addressing, but neither of those things is why it started. Nor is it why it will continue.
