Euthanasia and Pets

Title
Putting Down a Sick Cat: Permissible?

Question
As-Salamu `alaykum. My parents have a pet cat and it is very sick now.
They are planning to have it put down. Is this kind of mercy killing allowed in Islam?

Date
10/Jun/2004

Name of Counsellor
Ahmad Kutty

Answer

Wa `alaykum as-salamu wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.


All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

Dear sister in Islam, we are very pleased for the great confidence you place in us, and we commend your interest in having a better understanding of the teachings of Islam and the rulings of this great religion in all matters. In fact, Islam is a religion that encompasses all aspects of life and secures guidance and light for all mankind.

Concerning your question, Islam, the true religion of Allah, cares about the well-being of all creatures. Therefore, animals should be treated kindly and mercifully. If a pet cat becomes sick it should be treated.

Responding to your question, Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a senior lecturer and Islamic scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada states:

“If your cat is sick and it can be treated you must do so if it is within your means and ability. Simply allowing a cat to be put down because it is sick is not allowed in Islam; should you do so, you will be responsible before Allah for causing unnecessary suffering to an animal.

If, however, your cat is too sick to recover and there is no hope of it ever being able to lead a normal life, or you do not have the means and resources to obtain adequate treatment for it, then you must hand it over to the humane society. It is up to them to decide what to do with the cat. If they decide to put it down because of not being able to find a home, or because of their decision that such an animal cannot be cared for or set free, it is permitted to do so according to the principles of the Shari`ah. It is generally agreed by scholars that if leaving certain animals free becomes a cause of genuine concern for the safety of society, it is permitted in Shari`ah to put them down as a lesser of the two evils.”

Excerpted, with slight modifications, from: www.muslim.ca
_ _ _ _             _ _ _ _           _ _ _ _

p/s: I didn't PTS my cat. He passed away naturally.

Requiem for Yoyo...

My beloved, handsome, darling cat, Yoyo, or his pet name,

A-yo passed away this afternoon, at 3pm because of FIP.

He was 3 years, 1 month. 

I have a lot of cats, and each and every one of them is special

to me, but he was way too special. Every night he slept beside

me and every morning he would wake me up. He was the alpha,

dominant male, but he was very gentle with any kitten that

he met. He would go out every morning and waited for me

by the house gate when I returned home. And what I remember

most about him is that he would stay quiet whenever I kissed his

face. During a visit to the clinic, when he was screaming at the

vet, I kissed his face and he became quiet. Such is the 

bond that we shared

For him, i dedicate a poem.

Missing You

When I was yours and you were mine
You missed me.

When I went to work
Or to the store
You missed me.

When I talked too long to a neighbor
Or went out with the girls
You missed me.

When I worked in the garden
Or hiked in the woods
You missed me.

When I was yours and you were mine
You greeted me.
You sang
You danced
You hurdled the couch
You knocked me down
You greeted me!
I’m still yours, but you are gone.

When I am at work
Or at the store
I miss you!

When I talk too long to a neighbor
Or go out with the girls
I miss you.

When I work in the garden
Or hike in the woods
I miss you.


I’m still yours, but you are gone.
No one greets me.
No one sings
No one dances
No one hurdles the couch
No one knocks me down
No one greets me!

I’m still yours but you are gone
And
I’m
Missing You!

Written by Sonjalyn Dickson Rine

Adopt A Cat (For Free!)

           Actually if you think you are ready to have a pet cat, you don't have to buy it. Apparently they can be given free. Just check out the face book page like in the picture above- Malaysian Cats Free Adoption 

But don't dream of having those expensive breed of cats like Scottish Folds or Persian. Most of them are local or domestic breed. If u are lucky they might be mixed! This is a public announcement and I am not affliated with the page itself, only I feel that it's BETTER if we stop buying cats from pet shops for the sake of the cats... Besides there are many stray cats out there. I NEVER bought any of my cats. I picked them out from the back of my house and I trained and domesticated them myself. The first year was hell, yeah, but it was worth it..

              To get your pet, you just have to like the page, and then go to the public wall (it's written as everyone) and read the posts there. Look at the pics and if the original owner is in your area, you're in luck! I stalk this page everyday because i love reading about how this cat got adopted or found a new home. Yeah i'm messed up that way XP btw if i didn't have 3 adult cats, i would have scourged and devoured the page for those cute kittens they are giving away *be still my beating heart* :)

                 If u happen to have or adopt one, please make sure your cats are neutered and spayed. It's for your own and the cat's benefit. My mom used to disagree on this but after i persuaded her to spay the cats, she is now convinced. You can ask me where you can neuter or spay them in KL area.[or in any other area, i'll search the net for you :)]

p/s: do you know that if you send your cats to SPCA, and after 2 weeks, if nobody wants them, they'll be put to sleep? T____________T

INHUMAN

The Star came up with a very good cover on PETS. As a happy 2 years and counting cat owner, I am happy that a mainstream newspaper actually cared enough about pets to do a probe and investigated the issue.

Yes, it’s true that certain places have these bogus vet. How to know? Your pet’s condition becomes worse or the worst died because of misdiagnose. My auntie said she knew a vet who diagnosed her cats to death. I also knew one vet who said my kitten would do fine but it died on the way home.

Thank God for a vet near my house in SG. At first when I sent my cat to her, she seemed too young and incompetent. But after a few times, and after consulting other vets in KL, I find her very competent. Her age misled me but her words are good. Apparently, the animal healthcare world is very young, and the younger the vet, the better they are (Is this true?) And UPM apparently produces very, very good veterinarians, on par with developed nations’!

One reader in Harian Metro apparently was pissed-off that certain animal lovers (like me!) were angry and disturbed at the way the department involved  put down the dogs owned by the main suspect of the SosilawatI murders. The dogs were owned by the suspects, and since he was remanded two weeks ago, his dogs had not been fed and have been scurrying around eating stock animals at other estates. With complaints received, they tracked down these dogs and put them down with high dose of tranqulisers that killed them. How INHUMANE! Ok, first things first-

1. The dogs were eating other animals because they were HUNGRY and STARVING. Please don’t think they could endure it because they were strayed animals, they are pets!!
2. The owner IS the one being accused as the murderer, not the dogs. Why put the blame on the animals? Oh, the owner used the dogs to threaten Sosilawati? Again, it WAS THE OWNER!!
3. The dogs could been tranquilised and brought to animal centres. Oh, it would incur more fund? Oh please, I’d rather spend my taxes on these animals than on multibillion mega projects that is nothing (remember PKFZ)and is only to enrich the pockets of certain people!
4. Kenapa bising2 psl anjing, sedangkan kisah mengenai nyawa manusia x dibisingkan? -that’s what the reader write. Hello, when did we say we are not horrified or sad about the murders? The newspapers write about it EVERYDAY at the front page. Did we say anything? And just because they are dogs, they have no right to live? No wonder Islam has bad PR.

Rasulullah (SAW) said: “Anyone who kills even a sparrow for no reason (should know that) it will cry aloud to Allah on the Day of the Resurrection, saying, “O my Lord! So-and-so killed me just for fun; he killed me for no reason!” ‘(Sunan An-Nasa’i)

 
Ayesha (RA) said: “I was once riding a difficult (slow-moving) camel, so I kept hitting it. When Rasulullah (SAW) saw me, he Rasulullah (SAW) said: “Be gentle, for gentleness adorns everything in which it is found, and its absence leaves everything tainted.” (Musnad Ahmad)

STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN

I have not posted for a few weeks yes I know. But a lot
of things happened that pushed me far from blogging.
I was busy with marking exam papers and
2 OF MY THREE KITTENS DIED within 2 weeks time.

SHIRO was the youngest and he died on my bed, on
25th August just 2 days before he would be
one month,

and this afternoon, JO GUK died beside me due to
respiratory problem. He was 6 weeks.

Now I'm only left with MIRAE and I hope
she'll last longer.

Honestly, this case of kittens dying are not
for me. My heart was broken TWICE and
I really miss them. I'm thinking of
neutering/spaying the parents so that
there'll be no more heartbreaks.
We'll see. For the time being, till
I get a lil bit happier, I won't blog.

TT

Cat Blues

Last nite, I went to an animal hospital in Jln Tun Razak.
My beloved cat, Yoyo had hematuria. I was panicked
and driven by my brother to this hospital.

Yoyo was hospitalized. Then I picked him up today
after school at 3PM. He seemed better and
his urine is back to its normal colour.

Ok, not that I'm not grateful that Yoyo is
recovering but the hospital bill was VERY VERY
EXPENSIVE. I was charged a whopping
RM 500 (or RM 496.50) for
-CONSULTATION -RM50
-HOSPITALIZATION-RM100 for 2 unnecessary days
-INTENSIVE CARE -RM80
-Tests (urine, blood, sediment)-RM80
-MEDICATION-RM 95+RM57.90

My biggest gripe is my cat was given
2 types of tablets-one is ClavamoxTM
and the other is a few of white pills.
I was also given Hill's Prescription Diet,
which is OK actually but I don't think the
pills would cost near RM100!!

And they charged my with hospitalization
though I really, vocally told the vet that it's
unnecessary (I check the net b4 going and
really, they should just give me the meds)

I'm not arguing anybody's creds here but this
is akin to DAYLIGHT ROBBERY. They were
just keeping him, it's not like he's critical
(I know what critical looks like ok cuz
I had a cat who was dying and had to go for
a major surgery) Even the surgery cost me
RM700 for the surgery and 3 days of hospitalization
plus the meds and I mean EVERYTHING.
How come Yoyo's not so serious condition
and I had to pay just a little less than
a do-or-die surgery?

Oh, and the over-the-counter staff were
not friendly too and the service was
not as fast as one would expect from
a very expensive hospital. Heck, they
did not even seperate rooms for
treating cats and dogs. I mean, hullo!!
Are u guys AWARE that Muslims can't
touch dogs?

One thing for sure, the hospital just got
a dissatisfied customer who will
not say anything nice about it. That visit
will my first and last visit too.

Anybody knows a clinic that has good
vet/service and reasonably priced?