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My husband and I have two 6-month old kittens: one male and one female which we keep as indoor pets.

I have concerns about the male cat, particularly as my husband and I are about to Insha’Allah have a baby soon:

  1. he can be rather aggressive and scratches;
  2. he will soon be spraying to mark his territory around the house;
  3. it is likely that soon, he will be mature enough to mate and we will have kittens on our hands, which we will be unable to give proper care to.

We have considered having him rehomed, but he and his sister are the best of friends, so it would be such a shame to split them up and we know he will be cared for properly with us.

Our vet advises that we have him neutered in order to calm him down and prevent points 2 and 3 and advises that we should do so soon whilst he is still young. Is this haram?

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  • His sister will have kittens whether her brother is neutered or not. Unless you lock them both in the house all the time, point 3 will not be avoided.
    – user5751924
    Jan 15, 2017 at 23:46
  • Haven't heard anything about this one way or another. As long as something isn't harming the animal long term (like declawing) then it is probably fine. I don't think they were neutering any animals during the time of the prophet SA
    – hamobi
    Jan 16, 2017 at 22:54

4 Answers 4

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There's a difference of opinion.

Shia Islam

Al-Islam indicates a difference of opinion as to whether it's "detestable" or "forbidden":

...jurists like Abu al-Salah al-Halabi, Ibn Barraj, and Shawkani consider such an action as unlawful...

An Islam Today fatwa forbids it, quoting e.g. the Sunni (Shafii) scholar Al-Nawawi: It is categorically forbidden to castrate animals that cannot be used for food.

Sunni Islam

There's online fatawa which indicate neutering a cat is permissible if it will not harm the animal: Islam Q&A (Salafi), Mufti Online (Hanafi), Ask Imam (Hanafi), Seekers Hub (Hanafi), and EShakyh.com (when asked about a female cat).

However, Islam Q&A points out a difference of opinion about castration of animals within Sunni Islam:

The Shaafa’is differentiated between animals that are eaten and those that are not eaten. They said: It is permissible to castrate those whose meat is eaten when they are young, but it is haraam in other cases.

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  • The last statement in first place refers to cattle and those animals that can be eaten. AFAIK Muslims don't eat cats.
    – Jamila
    Jun 22, 2018 at 10:04
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It is haraam as long as it harms the animal I believe we have anesthesia for animals thus no harm and after neutering/spaying the animal is much relaxed, healthy and playful. Secondly humans and animals both are relaxed after that.

I dont have enough knowledge for the reference but I do believe that. And giving away animal or letting it free may also depress it so if keeping it makes it happy and you are taking good care of it I do think Allah will forgive for the neuter even if haraam rest is up to Allah.

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Please do not neuter or spay them as we absolutely do not have the right to do so as even if it doesn't cause instant death to them but it leaves them in pain as their reproductive parts are eliminated and makes them vulnerable to cancer , autoimmunity,joint problems,obesity,endocrine issues,trauma,loss of appetite due to hormonal imbalance.

Scholars who advice to do so have no knowledge on these topics and are blindly accepting it based on the positive data produced

Most vets, surgeons, researchers argue that it is for their good health and to prevent cancer but it's to control growing population with barely any concern to pets health

Many animals suffer in silence. Your vet may further tell you that it is to prevent cancer and that it prolongs lifespan

Cancer is caused due to varied reason but limiting the cause to their reproductive parts is cruel.

When human are born we are never Forcefully sterilized to prevent cancer in the future. This procedure is largely carried out as researchers have looked into people s demand of curbing pet population

And as for prolonged life span.. Death to various animals is caused due to various reasons at varied Hence no man can say that spayed or neutered pets have longer lifespan unless they knew exactly when it's gonna die

In human especially females if we have hormonal imbalance( pcod) it's a disorder then why would you go out of your way to create a disorder in your cats

Please do not accept opinions of mufti or imam who advise to spay or neuter As Spaying or neutering is neither ethical nor scientific nor islamic

Not all scientific papers are based on science or are ethical towards beings some are performed for selfish reasons

So please reason.

Even without thinking scientifically the issue can be thought of islamically

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islam says it is ok to have pets like cat roaming around house and mosque since they are ritual cleanbut if male becomes aggressive m advice is give the male catnip which can be found online

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  • This answer could use some evidences that support your claim.
    – Jamila
    Jun 22, 2018 at 9:54

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