Are cats clean in Islam?

Yes, cats are clean in Islam. The Prophet ﷺ said cats are not impure, so their fur, saliva and the water they drink from don't spoil your wudu or your prayer. Only their urine and droppings are impure, like those of other animals.

What the Prophet ﷺ said about cats

A cat once came to drink from the water Abu Qatadah was using for wudu, and he tilted the pot so it could drink. When people were surprised, he quoted the Prophet ﷺ: "They are not impure; they are among those who go around among you" (Sunan Abi Dawud 75). In other words, cats live with people and wander around homes, so Allah made them easy to live with.

Cats were part of daily life in early Muslim homes. One of the best-known Companions is called Abu Hurairah, "father of the little cat," because of the kitten he carried around. See Can I keep a cat inside my house?

What is clean and what isn't

Fur and body: clean. Cat hair on your clothes or prayer mat doesn't affect your prayer.
Saliva: clean. Water or food a cat drank from is still pure. The Hanafi school says it's mildly disliked (makruh) to use the leftover water for wudu if other water is available, but it remains valid.
Urine and droppings: impure (najis). Wash any spot on your body or clothes before praying. See Can I pray with a stain on my clothes?
Walking across your prayer mat: fine. It doesn't break your prayer or your wudu.

Cats vs dogs

New Muslims often hear different rules for dogs and cats. Most scholars consider a dog's saliva impure, while a cat's saliva is clean. That's why many Muslim homes have cats but keep dogs outside or for work only. The Maliki school is the most lenient on dogs. See Can I keep my dog after becoming Muslim?

Kindness to cats is part of faith

Being allowed to keep a cat comes with responsibility. The Prophet ﷺ said a woman was punished because of a cat she locked up, neither feeding it nor letting it find food for itself (Sahih al-Bukhari 3482). Animals are communities with their own place in Allah's creation:

وَمَا مِن دَآبَّةٍ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ وَلَا طَـٰٓئِرٍ يَطِيرُ بِجَنَاحَيْهِ إِلَّآ أُمَمٌ أَمْثَالُكُم "And there is no creature on [or within] the earth or bird that flies with its wings except [that they are] communities like you." Quran 6:38

So feed your cat well, take it to the vet, and keep its litter tray clean. All of that can be rewarded.

Key points

Cats are not impure, according to the Prophet ﷺ (Sunan Abi Dawud 75).
Cat fur and saliva don't affect wudu or prayer.
Cat urine and droppings are impure and should be washed off.
Neglecting or mistreating a cat is a serious sin.

Tip: Keep the litter tray away from where you pray and wash your hands after cleaning it. If your cat likes to sit on your prayer mat, let it; just shake the mat out now and then.

Are cats clean in Islam?

What the Prophet ﷺ said about cats

What is clean and what isn't

Cats vs dogs

Kindness to cats is part of faith

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