Thursday | 28 March 2024 | 17 Ramadhan 1445

Fatwa Answer

Question ID: 1614 Category: Permissible and Impermissible
Cat food

Assalam-mu-Alaikum

My wife and kids adopted 2 cats. My question is the outside food from the supermarket haram for our cats to eat? because I heard it's not proper to feed the food. My wife and kids don't agree they keep buying cat food outside. I told them I would not buy the food they have to buy because I believe it's wrong and I only buy cat litter for them. Am I wrong about this? can we feed our cats outside food? Please elaborate.

Jzk

بسم اللہ الرحمن الرحیم

الجواب وباللہ التوفیق

There are three forms of eatables purchased from the supermarket for cats:

  1. If those food items are halal, or meats of halal slaughtered animals, then it is permissible to buy and feed them.
  2. But if food items are haram, or are parts taken from haraam animals or items extracted from non-slaughtered animals, then If animal ingredients remain in their original state, it is not permissible to buy and use them as animal feed.
  3. If the reality of those parts or ingredients is changed by changing nature of these components, like the color, smell, taste, and noticeable effects of those items and become entirely another thing, then it is permissible to buy and use it as animal food. As jurists have declared the soap made from fat and impure oil extracted from the corpses, to be pure and permissible due to its changed nature. And its use and its trade are all permissible. 

In the same way all the above-mentioned items can be cleansed due to the change in their nature, then it will be correct to use them as animal food. 

عبارۃ المجتبیٰ: جعل الد ہن  النجس في صابون یفتیٰ بطہارتہ؛ لأنہ تغیر، والتغیر یطہر عند محمدؒ، ویفتی بہ للبلویٰ، وظاہرہ أن دہن المیتۃ کذلک لتعبیرہ بالنجس دون المتنجس، إلا أن یقال: ہو خاص بالنجس؛ لأن العادۃ في الصابون وضع الزیت دون بقیۃ الأدہان، ثم رأیت في شرح المنیۃ ما یؤید الأول حیث قال: وعلیہ یتفرع مالو وقع إنسان، أو کلب في قدر الصابون، فصار صابونا یکونا طاہرًا؛ لتبدل الحقیقۃ، ثم إعلم أن العلۃ عند محمدؒ ہي التغیر وانقلاب الحقیقۃ، وأنہ یفتی بہ للبلوی کما علم ممامر، ومقتضاہ عدم اختصاص ذلک الحکم بالصابون، فیدخل فیہ کل ما کان فیہ تغیر وانقلاب حقیقۃ، وکان فیہ بلوی عامۃ۔ (شامي، کتاب الطہارۃ، باب الأنجاس، کراچي۱/۳۱۶)

فقط واللہ اعلم واتم