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Rabat resident makes room for felines

February 13, 2015 By Mary Stucky

Though the cats remain unnamed, Mohammed Hennaoui, 19, whose father owns the small shop, feeds them by hand two to three times a day. Extra work, maybe, but Hennaoui says, “It comes from the heart.”  Photo by Julia Levine
Though the cats remain unnamed, Mohammed Hennaoui, 19, whose father owns the small shop, feeds them by hand two to three times a day. Extra work, maybe, but Hennaoui says, “It comes from the heart.” Photo by Julia Levine

 

By Kiannah Sepeda-Miller

RABAT, Morocco — Several times each day, Mohammed Amine Hennaoui, 19, feeds a nameless cat and her three kittens by hand amid the hustle-bustle of his father’s construction supply store.

“The Prophet Mohammed tells us to care for cats,” Hennaoui said. “If you feed them, God will bless you.”

Cats abound in Rabat. Many do not have homes and some bear battle scars on their scrawny bodies. In the medina, Rabat’s ancient inner city where Hennaoui lives and works, there are cats on every street. They loiter outside stores, nap on car roofs and nibble on tossed fish, but the most fortunate are cared for by devoted cat lovers like Hennaoui.

Islam teaches that cats are clean and Muslims are free to live with cats, provided they treat them well. A good deed done to a cat equals a good deed done to a person — and the same goes for an evil act. In a hadith, the oral tradition that tells the prophet’s story, a woman was sentenced to hell for confining and starving a cat.

The mother cat arrived at the construction shop a few years ago and just recently gave birth to three kittens while in the shop. Photo by Julia Levine
The mother cat arrived at the construction shop a few years ago and just recently gave birth to three kittens while in the shop. Photo by Julia Levine

Hennaoui said he believes cats are good, beautiful creatures, but like many other caretakers in the medina, he did not seek out cat ownership. When a pregnant stray showed up in the shop and gave birth, he decided not to turn her away.

He continues to feed the cats with whatever he has on hand, usually cheese or fish.

“It comes from the heart,” Hennaoui said.

 

Featured Tagged With: cats, cheese, fish, food, islam, Prophet Mohammed, Rabat

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