Christianity and cat

Interesting enough there is no reference of any cats in the Bible.

In “The Gospel of the Holy Twelve” there are two stories concerning Jesus and cats,

As Jesus passed through a certain village he saw a crowd of idlers of the baser sort, and they were tormenting a cat which they had found and shamefully treating it. And Jesus commanded them to desist and began to reason with them, but they would have none of his words, and reviled him.

Then he made a whip of knotted cords and drove them away, saying; this earth which my Father-Mother made for joy and gladness, ye have made into the lowest hell with your deeds of violence and cruelty; and they fled before his face.

AND as Jesus entered into a certain village he saw a young cat which had none to care for her, and she was hungry and cried unto him, and he took her up, and put her inside his garment, and she lay in his bosom.

And when he came into the village he set food and drink before the cat, and she ate and drank, and showed thanks unto him. And he gave her unto one of his disciples, who was a widow, whose name was Lorenza, and she took care of her.

And some of the people said, This man careth for all creatures, are they his brothers and sisters that he should love them? And he said unto them, “Verily these are your fellow creatures of the great Household of God, yea, they are your brethren and sisters, having the same breath of life in the Eternal.”

Islam and cat

The domestic cat is a revered animal in Islam. Admired for its cleanliness as well as for being loved by the Islamic prophet Muhammad, the cat is considered "the quintessential pet" by Muslims. Islam teaches Muslims to treat cats well and that the cat is a creature to be cherished and loved.

Mistreating a cat is regarded as a severe sin in Islam.

An example as to how Muslims are punished for mistreating cats can be found in the ahadith (oral traditions telling the story of the Prophet Mohammed (SAW) and which have been recorded in writing). When a woman kept a cat locked up and failed to feed the cat until the cat died, the woman was tortured and “put to hell.

It is believed that you will suffer no harm if you drink from the cat’s water provided no impurities are seen in the cat’s mouth. In another story from the ahadith, it is stated that a when a cat ate a pudding put down during prayers, the person who was in charge of the pudding ate from the same place as the cat and Prophet Muhammad (SAW) said this was alright as the cat is not unclean and is “one of those who go around amongst us”.

Islam teaches Muslims that, in relation to a cat:

the cat should not be sold for money or other traded goods

cats saliva is harmless unless the cat has “visible impurities” in the mouth

that Muslims are free to live with cats but they must treat cats well, providing the cat with enough water and food and giving “roaming time” (a degree of freedom of movement).