Nahla The Cat
Do cats and animals form attachments to humans?
On the theme of love, I thought to write about our cat that lives in my parent’s house.
I used to wonder if animals had souls or even intelligence. Some people say that they do not, but I believe that they do. They also do seem to understand us to some extent, although they may not be able to articulate what they understand.
Her name is Nahla and she is a Tabby. Apparently, in cat years she would be over ninety years old by now. It does not show much, since it seems that cats do not get grey hair (or so it seems.) and it only appears that her face is a bit more tired than before, with some bags under her eyes. She still likes to run around outside, but perhaps a bit less than usual.
There is a saying of the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him, that cats are clean and do not make the house dirty. He called them, “frequent visitors,” because cats are very friendly and often come back to the house even if you put them outside. One of the companions of the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him, was nicknamed, “father of the cat,” because he had a cat follow him around and keep him company. Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him, is also reported to have said:
“There is a reward for helping every living thing.”
Sahih al Bukhari
There is a reward for kindness to every living animal or human.
Narrated in Saheeh Muslim, #2244, and Saheeh Al-Bukhari, #2466
Therefore, being good to animals and looking after them will get someone some reward from God.
One thing I find interesting about Nahla is that she often seems to recognize me. I am not able to visit my family more than once a year, and since the coronavirus, I have not been. However, it seems that she always seems to recognize me. I have noticed that she raises her head and stares at me from her little cat bed, with large eyes like saucers. Her eyes show her recognition that she knows me.
In fact, I remember the last time when I went and visited my family. Nahla gave me a look to show she knew who I was and continued to watch me with curiosity. It was as if her eyes were asking, “where have you been? I did you see you for a while?”
Since cats do not speak, it seems that we could communicate by looking at each other, I felt that I could understand what she was thinking and what she wanted to say through her large eyes. I felt they were showing her soul somehow.
I think this is how animals can communicate and recognize us, and they also recognize how we are with them.
One day, Nahla came meowing at the back door because it was raining, so I let her in. The weather had turned cold, and she began to sneeze. I took some of the blankets from her cat bed and covered her with them. When my mother came into the room, she asked why she was covered in blankets so I told her I did that because she was sneezing. “How sweet,” she replied.
Nahla used to get very angry if any cat came into our garden and she would run around the room growling and meowing in aggression. If we opened the door, she would flatten her ears against her head and bear her death while shrieking. Other cats would freeze. Often when I saw this, I would go out and scare the other cats away. She seemed to notice, and her eyes showed appreciation. We were like friends. In fact, it once happened in the middle of the night. I could hear her outside arguing with the neighbor’s cat. I thought that they might feel annoyed at the noise, so I went outside to bring her back in. She was sitting on the fence facing her opponent, who refused to budge. She was making warning sounds before shrieking. I called to her gently to come down and beckoned to her but she did not come. So in the end I picked up a twig and threw it at the other cat, knowing that it would make her come down off the fence. The other cat fled. Nahla then turned to me and jumped down with a happy sound and came bounding towards me and followed me into the house. I felt as if she was trying to say thank you by the sounds she made, and even insisted on sleeping in the room with me and not in her cat bed. Perhaps she saw us as friends after that.
When I was going to leave my parent’s house, it seemed that Nahla was aware of what was going on. Perhaps she had noticed before that I come for a time and then leave, although she was unaware of the reasons or to where. That confusion seemed to show in her eyes. In fact, the last time I had put my suitcase and my bags downstairs in the room she normally sleeps in where her cat bed is. I then went to look for her to say goodbye. She had been upstairs with me. Yet I could not find her. I was a bit confused. Did she go out? I wanted to say goodbye, but not being able to find her I gave up and went downstairs to take my suitcase. When I opened the door, there was Nahla sitting amongst my bags with a very confused look on her face. She immediately tried to jump away looking guilty for being there. She seemed to know there was something, and she was not sure what was happening. So I picked her up and tried to tell her that I was going for some time and hopefully would see her soon. I looked into her large saucer-like eyes, and her eyes seemed to search mine, trying to study my soul and attempting to understand what was going on. I think she knew I was going away but seemed to be asking when I would be back, and why am I going? We seemed to talk through our eyes.
So I have not seen Nahla since the coronavirus began, but I believe she is well. I think that from her behavior I have come to understand that animals, such as cats, must have souls and do have some degree of intelligence, even if it is not like ours. Animals can also build up loving relationships and bond with humans, although they do not speak the language. It is also interesting that this understanding appears to come through their eyes. I once read a study that when men and women were asked to sit across from one another and look into the other person’s eyes while talking they were more likely to fall in love and get married after that. It is said that our eyes are the windows of our soul and they often give away our true intentions or thoughts.
