A rescued animal depends entirely on the hand that feeds it. Two hadiths recorded in the recognized collections, that of the confined cat and that of the groaning camel, remind us that taking an animal into our care is a responsibility before God.
An animal that lives among its own people does not choose its home, its meals, or the door that opens or closes on it. Everything it receives, it receives from the hand that keeps it. It is precisely this dependence that the prophetic tradition brings to light, in very simple accounts with a far-reaching message.
The Confined Cat
Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim report, on the authority of the Prophet ﷺ, that a woman was punished because of a cat she had tied up or shut in until it died. She gave it neither food nor drink, and she did not let it go free to feed on the small creatures of the earth.
The hadith does not dwell on the details of this woman's life, and we have no reason to add any. What it stresses is the essential point: a living being was at her mercy, and its basic needs were neglected. The text links the gravity of the act to this lack of care. An animal deprived of food, water and freedom can rely only on the one who holds it.
The Complaining Camel
In Sunan Abi Dawud, it is reported that the Prophet ﷺ once entered the garden of a man from the Ansar. A camel was there. At the sight of the Prophet ﷺ, the animal groaned and its eyes began to stream with tears. The Prophet ﷺ approached, passed his hand behind its ears, and the animal calmed down.
He then asked whose camel it was. A young man from the Ansar came forward: it was his. The Prophet ﷺ said to him, in substance: do you not fear God concerning this animal that God has placed under your authority? It has complained to me that you leave it hungry and overwork it.
The decisive word is "placed under your authority". Owning an animal is not a right without obligations: it is a trust placed in our hands. The same collection also records this recommendation of the Prophet ﷺ: fear God concerning these beasts that cannot speak; ride them while they are in good condition, and eat them while they are in good condition.
What These Accounts Tell Us Today
These hadiths do not expressly speak of abandonment as we know it today: the animal left at the side of a road or in front of a door. But they convey a clear principle. Whoever takes an animal into their care is answerable for its food, its water and its well-being, and may not let it suffer by looking away. A cat or dog released far from home suddenly loses its meals, its shelter and its landmarks, and cannot recover them on its own. This is why the decision to take in an animal deserves careful thought before it is made.
The collections also relate that a man, tormented by thirst, went down into a well to drink, then climbed back out and found a dog panting and eating damp earth because of its thirst. He filled his leather sock with water and gave the dog to drink, and God thanked him for it and forgave him (Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim). It teaches us that every living being deserves to be cared for.
May this story therefore help us to see our companions with fur, feathers or hooves as a trust we have received. Feeding them, giving them water, caring for them and not abandoning them are modest acts, but they reflect the mercy the Prophet ﷺ taught toward every creature.
