Manama: A restaurant owner in Saudi Arabia is offering free food for one year to a soldier who helped a cat drink water.

A picture of the soldier in uniform joining his palms together in order to hold water and allow a cat to lap it up went viral on the Internet, sparking praise and tribute. The setting suggests the soldier was in an ablution room of a mosque getting ready for prayers.

On seeing the picture, Abdullah Al Harithi, the restaurant owner in the Red Sea city of Jeddah, said he would offer a free lunch to the soldier for one year, starting this week.

“If he is not from Jeddah and cannot come to the restaurant, I am willing to donate to him the cost of the lunches for one year,” Al Harithi said, quoted by Saudi daily Okaz on Sunday.

Comments on the social media praised mainly the soldier for his compassion.

“These are the true values upheld by our dear servicemen - very high morals and an outstanding commitment to helping all,” Abu Nawwas posted.

Abu Zubaidi said that Saudi soldiers deserved the highest respect.

“I cannot believe that there are people targeting our soldiers and security people on phony accusations,” he said, referring to calls by terror groups to assault people in uniform. “May God bless him and protect him and his colleagues from all harm,” he said.

For Eastern Province Man, another blogger, the soldier incarnated the values that “a genuine Muslim” had to uphold.

“A truthful Muslim must be helpful with all people and animals,” he said. “He must not allow negative ideas or destructive ideologies affect him in any way.”

Other comments welcomed the restaurant owner’s decision as “a great act of compassion and fraternity” that deserved to be lauded.