Does Cat Urine Break Wudu? The Explanation You're Looking For

Hi again! Cats are one of the pets that are not wild. Many people keep them. They interact with it. Likewise, Muslims. For this reason, there is one important question about cats that you must understand the answer to: does cat urine break wudu?

Whatever your reason for opening this article, I am very sure that you are looking for an explanation about the effect of cat urine on wudu: does it break wudu or not? Trust me! That's what I will explain today. You just need to read this article to the end!

Minor Hadas and Major Hadas: Two Things That Break Wudu

Hi! First of all, I will explain the minor hadas and the major hadas. These two things break wudu. You must understand these two things at the beginning of this discussion because these two things will help you understand the answer to the question which is the main topic in this discussion.

If you read Islamic legal literature, you will find an explanation that there are two things that can break wudu: minor hadas and major hadas.

In short, minor hadas is an impure condition in the body of Muslims caused by the following things:

• Vomiting and nosebleeds.
• Loss of consciousness due to sleep, madness, and so on.
• Something that comes out of two private ports: the front hole and the back hole.
• Touching other people's vital organs (front or back) using the palm of the hand or the inside of the finger.
• If the skin of a man and a woman who is not a mahram touches without a barrier.

In Islam, minor hadas can be removed by wudu. If Muslims cannot do that because of things that are justified in Islam, they can do tayammum as an alternative.

What is meant by major hadas is an impure condition in the body of Muslims caused by the following things:

• Died (for men and women).
• Menstrual blood no longer comes out (only for women).
• Postpartum blood does not come out anymore (only for women).
• After giving birth (only for women).
• Husband and wife personal relationship on the bed (for men and women).
• Sperm out (men and women).

In Islam, major hadas can be removed with ghusl Janabah. If Muslims cannot do that because of things that are justified in Islam, they can do tayammum as an alternative.

In conclusion, if Muslims have minor hadas or major hadas, they must remove them first before carrying out acts of worship that require them to be in a holy condition while doing it all, such as prayer, holding the Quran, and Tawaf. For example, you can find an explanation that Muslims cannot pray if they have minor hadas in the hadith below:

عَنْ أَبِيْ هُرَيْرَةَ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ أَنَّ رَسُوْلُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ : لَا يَقْبَلُ اللهُ صَلَاةَ أَحَدِكُمْ إِذَا أَحْدَثَ حَتَّى يَتَوَضَّأَ . مُتَّفَقٌ عَلَيْهِ

From Abu Hurairah radiyallahu anhu, that the Messenger of Allah (Prophet Muhammad) sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, "Allah does not accept someone's prayer from you if he has hadas (small hadas) until he performs wudu." This hadith was narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim.

Cat Urine: Does It Cause You to Have Minor Hadas or Major Hadas?

Now I will explain the answer to one important question that you should understand by now: does cat urine cause you to have minor hadas or major hadas? You need to understand that well now so that you can understand the main topics in this discussion specifically. Apart from that, there are some Muslims who don't understand it well. I don't think you want to be like them, do you!?

By the way, do you see cat urine as one of the things that causes you to have minor hadas or major hadas as things can cause Muslims to have two hadas as I have explained in the previous paragraphs? No, right?

So, the conclusion is that cat urine is not something that causes you to have minor hadas or major hadas. That is very important for you to remember because that will be the main point for understanding the main topic in this discussion.

Although cat urine is not one of the things that causes Muslims to have minor hadas or major hadas, it is one of the unclean things. The reason is because it is one of the things that comes out of a cat's vital organs. Anything that comes out of the vital organs, whether front or back, is something unclean.

One important thing about cats that I want to explain now is that although cat urine is something unclean, the cat's body is not something unclean. You can find this explanation in the hadith below:

عَنْ أَبِيْ قَتَادَةَ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ : فِيْ الْهِرَّةِ :  إِنَّهَا لَيْسَتْ بِنَجَسٍ ، إِنَّمَا هِيَ مِنَ الطَّوَافِيْنَ عَلَيْكُمْ . أَخْرَجَهُ الْأَرْبَعَةُ وَ إِبْنُ خُزَيْمَةَ

From Abu Qatadah radiyallahu anhu, he (Prophet Muhammad) said about cats; “Actually, it is not unclean. That includes the animals that surround you.” The hadith was narrated by four people (Abu Dawud, at-Tirmidhi, an-Nasa'I, and Ibn Majah) and Ibn Khuzaimah.

In Islam, all animals must be treated well. Muslims must treat them well, especially the animals they keep. Below is a hadith which explains that there was a woman who went to Hell because she had tortured a cat: 

عَنْ أَبِيْ هُرَيْرَةَ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ : … دَخَلَتِ امْرَأَةٌ النَّارَ فِيْ هِرَّةٍ ربَطَتْهَا فَلَا هِيَ أَطْعَمَتْهَا وَلَا هِيَ أَرْسَلَتْها تَأكُلُ مِنْ خَشَاشِ الْأَرْضِ حَتَّى مَاتَتْ

From Abu Hurairah radiyallahu anhu, that the Prophet (Muhammad) sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, "...a woman enters Hell because she binds a cat and does not feed it nor does she let it go so that can eat small animals that are on the ground until it (the cat) dies."

Does Cat Urine Break Wudu?

Hi! Are you still with me? Now I will explain the answer to the question which is the main topic in this discussion. So, you should read this explanation well so that there are no more questions about it in your mind. Of course, if you still have other questions about it, you can write them in the comment column. I would love to have a dialogue with you.

In the previous few paragraphs, I explained that cat urine is not what causes you or Muslims to have minor hadas or major hadas. I have also explained that only minor hadas and major hadas can break wudu.

So, if you are still wondering, “Does cat urine break wudu?”, the answer is “No. Cat urine does not break wudu.”

What Should You Do If You Step in Cat Urine?

At the end of this discussion, I will explain what you should do if you have stepped in cat urine. You should understand that by the end of this discussion so that you have a very good understanding after you read this article.

In the previous paragraphs, I explained that cat urine is something unclean. In Islam, Muslims are allowed to touch or be exposed to uncleanliness. Every time we have a bowel movement, there is impurity in our anus. If we clean it with our hands, there will be uncleanness on our hands. So, as normal humans, we cannot avoid being unclean.

Something related to uncleanness that is prohibited in Islam is carrying out worship services that require us to be in a pure condition, whether the body, clothes, place or anything else we use to perform these worship services. So, if we are going to perform these worship services, we must remove minor hadas and major hadas from our bodies, and remove impurity from the body, clothes and the place that we will use to perform these worship services.

So, if you are still wondering, "what should you do if you step in cat urine?", the answer is "Clean up the cat urine by flushing it."

Do you have any questions? Please write in the comment column!