Cats and dogs banned by Saudi religious police

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Prophet Muhammad was cat person
The inclusion of cats in the Saudi ban puzzled many, since there’s no scorn for them as there is for dogs in Islamic tradition.

One of the prophet’s closest companions was given the name Abu Huraira, Arabic for “the father of the kitten,” because he always carried a kitten and took care of it.

A number of hadiths — traditional stories of the prophet — show Muhammad encouraging people to treat cats well.

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Once, he let a cat drink from the water he was going to use for his ablutions before prayers. Another time, Muhammad said a woman who kept a cat locked up without feeding it would go to hell.

Dogs — considered dirty and dangerous — are less lucky. According to one hadith, Muhammad said a Muslim loses credit for one good deed each day he keeps a dog and even said dogs should be killed unless used for hunting or protection.

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Still, in another instance, he said that a prostitute who carried water in her slipper to a thirsty dog would go to heaven, her sins forgiven because of her kindness.

“All these things considered, it is obviously not against our religion or our tradition to have dogs and cats as pets,” columnist Abeer Mishkhas wrote in the Arab News.

“I sincerely hope (authorities) will leave the cats and dogs alone and concentrate on what should be their real business,” she added.

Al-Mutairi said his friends and relatives cannot understand his passion for his cats, which cost him $1,000 a month to feed and care for.

“I tell them this is not a Western innovation,” he said. “Our religion says we should take care of animals.”

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