I am just curious, but do any of you have pets and you had to convince your spouse that it is okay to keep them in the house? I had to go look for fatwas to convince my husband it was Islamically permissable to keep a cat in the house, but thank God I proved it to him. Though he is still unsure about the idea, he has come around a lot since the beginning. I convinced him I could not survive the lonliness if I didn't at least have a pet for this long wait until he comes. Really, having a pet does help a lot, at least for me. Not sure why, but many middle eastern people do not like to let their pets live in the house, though some will have pets. My husband was shocked by all the amenities we have for pets. He joked that our pets have it better than the Iraqis do.

Just wondering what everyone else's opinion is.

My husband is quite open-minded about pets. We have two cats and he loves them like his own! He also really dreams of getting a dog someday and he's mentioned he would want it to sleep in the bedroom with us (which *I* don't want to do)

He is definitely an animal lover. If there are bees in our pool he scoops them out with his hand so they don't drown. Every year around this time a male and female duck come play in our pool and keep their eggs in a bush somewhere in our yard and they swim around all day. My husband goes out there everyday and feeds them!

I do know that a lot of people here on VJ have not had similar experiences though. I wish you luck in getting your husband used to your pets!

That is so great about your husband. I hope I can get mine to at least like my cat. His whole family has started asking about her, they even want to see her on the camera. I gave her an arabic name so they find that amusing.

As for my husband, I think he is just jealous that my cat gets to be with me. It drove him crazy that I was feeding the stray cats when I came to see him. He couldn't get rid of them after I left, lol.

HAHA I used to feed the stray cats in Morocco too. I'd save a bit of my dinner and when we'd on a walk I would hand it out as we went along. I can't help it!

I'm sure your husband will eventually warm up to your cat. Give it time!

We have two gorgeous but occasionally naughty cats. My husband adores them...but he came from a family in Morocco that had a family cat and dog.

Simo tried to treat the cats like his cat in Morocco--feeding them people food, not fixing them, etc. but I'm afraid that didn't work with indoor cats. The cats definitely prefer their boring cat food to people food (except they love yogurt). And getting them spayed and neutered became obviously necessary after a while.

Actually, my husband insisted my cat be tested for any diseases and wanted her vaccinated so taking her to the vet didn't upset him. I don't think he liked that I got her fixed, but after I described how many cats are euthanized every year and that it isn't fair to bring more into the world so that others will never get a home, he let it go and let me get her fixed. The cat food thing is weird to him, but I explained it is much healthier. I do give treats of human food once in a great while.

ha ha, same here seria. When i was in jordan, my husband had a balcony and i would be out throwing food for the cats from the balcony. it was fun until some ppl got into the crossfire. ..lol i guess my aim wasnt very good but i couldnt stop so i learned to be very careful. i felt like i was a sniper

That use to be the case, and now this little guy is sofyans best friend....

We have 2 cats. My husband has never had a problem with them coming in the house. One likes to sleep on the bed once in a while and the other on the sofa (usually only when it's very cold,) but most of the time they both prefer to sleep outside on the porch or in the backyard.

Several of us did have dogs when SO's came and now we don't.

Gave up my precious Molly for the ex. Should have kept the dog.

j

awww, i hope you still can see molly

Yes, Molly is fat and happy at my daughter Jessicas house. It has been 4 years since I gave her up and she still to this day will look at me as if to say 'When are you bringing me home?' I still call her 'my' baby. I work full time and I can't have her where I am now. La Princessa doesn't care if I am gone 9 hours. Molly Tamale would worry herself to a frazzle if left alone that long.

Everytime my husband calls me on the phone, after how is the family, than how is the dog? WTF I am about to parchute the dog over kuwait and let him have the naughty dog. Yes, husband loves the dog, typically man, just kidding, but it is funny I will try to go on to something I think is important only to have my husband stop me and ask about Gus, the dog.

To clarify.........the ex LOVED the dog for 2 years on webcam. It was after coming the dog became an issue.

Same for at least 2 others here. Up to them if they want to share their experience with giving away their dogs.

Ahmed is also amazed that we take animals to the dr, more than some people there he says. He is leary of being around my dog that it will bite and questions about her staying outside, i said no more inside. Once tho he said he had a dream about the dog (not me) wonder if he was being bitten in his dream ha He has been told the dog stays.....

my husband loves animals-- outside. He insisted that the cats go outside as soon as he came... but then once he arrived he decided to put up with them for a bit because they had no place TO go outside and I wouldn't let them. he freaked out every time they came near him and it was like torture. he closed off the bedroom and would freak out about them being on anything but the floor. Slowly he got over it and now he doesn't get up and yell arabic curses if they touch him...now I catch him talking to them and petting them. He still would prefer them to go outside and he still hates that they are on the couch, but he doesn't do anything about it. It's an individual preference thing. Some people just do not like aniumals and when that is cultured with a cultural belief that aniumals are dirty and belong outside, then in some people that is unbreakable.

We have two cats that were Wadi's idea to adopt. He'd really like a dog, but that's not a possibility at the moment since we're still apartment dwellers. He tells me his family had pet cats while he was growing up.

glad to hear that

My husband never had pets and didnt know what to expect but bless his heart he not only grew to love the 2 cats I had when he got here but he also loves the 4 orphaned strays I have taken in over time. I beleive he would like a dog but we just cant do it for now with all these rotten cats

Mine had the exact same reaction to my dog. The cat wasn't as much of a problem but he didn't like it on the couch. He slowly accepted the dog until it was time for us to move and about 2 days before we moved he let it be known that we absolutely WOULD NOT be taking the dog and we HAD to get rid of 2 of our cats I miss those guys. The 2 cats we kept were coz 1 of them shares a birthday with my son and we've had him since my son was 6 months old. They are the exact same age. The other cat is one my husband fell in love with at the pet store one day and bought so of course, he didn't wanna let her go.

So, to sum up, yes the pets were great before he got here but after he got here and saw that they actually lived with us.. it has been torture on everyone. We still have our days...... Good luck to you!

Here is MollyTamale doing what she does best...eating Notice the plastic bin with a folded paper napkin next to her. Lexy spoils her a little.

Latin Americans are like that also,not just Middle Easterns.I won't get another dog because two of mine died and I was bawling just as if they were people who died.But my fiance wants a Rottweiler and thinks he can keep it outside.Oh well,that's what HE thinks.

this sounds just like what I went through. I have two indoor/outdoor pets a cat and an insane/manic/boxer puppy. at first my husband did not like my dog at ALL but he saw how much I love her and has worked really hard to accept her. He also told me he would never make me get rid of her cause I love her but if it were his choice we wouldn't have a dog. As for the cat he likes her because in comparisson of the dog shes polite and well behaved. It has been two months now and I am happy to say my husband goes to the dog parh with us and throws the ball for lucy (thanks to a device called the chuck it) . In the end things all worked out and he even likes her now

I think it is cultural , not many people have pets (dogs - cats) in the middle east especially like here in the us.

Hearing that makes me so upset!!! ARGH!!! I can't imagine if my husband said something like that to me. I would definitely NOT get rid of my cats for anyone unless they were extremely allergic. Even then I would take his azz to the doctor to get some medicines first! I'm so sorry you had to go through that. Grrrr!

I am not suprised about the dogs. I couldn't find anything good about dogs when I searched Islamic material for it. The only thing it said was that dogs should only be kept around for guard or work purposes, outside that is (so if that could help anyone).

I found lots of positive things about cats in Islam that you can use against your spouses. If anyone wants to read the quotes let me know, I kept them saved just in case after my husband gets here and if he doesn't want the cat around. Then I can prove that she is even considered "clean" in Islam. He still threatens that she should not sleep on the bed, but everyone knows that convincing cats of that is no walk in the park.

I agree and I have to say, what my husband REALLY thought was weird were the stores like Petco and PetSmart, huge stores all full of just pet foods and supplies. His experience in Morocco was that the animals just eat whatever they can find or what someone tosses to them. and I also was one of those that fed every stray cat I saw when I was there. I just couldnt help it.

I am really loving that so many of us were over in the middle east feading the poor stray cats. I swear there were a million of them and many looked malnurished, though a few didn't. I never saw dogs at all in the big cities, but cats were everywhere.

Oh, and about petsmart, that is one of the first places I want to take my husband just to shock him, lol.

yeah neither pet is allowed on the bed......

I was just going to jump in and say that my grandmother, who is now passed, always thought animals stay outside, they are dirty , My great grandmother took it even a step more, told my mother she had seen me playing with the flithy animals, and my soul was damned, it just wasn't right. Ok so yes, she saw me trying to lift my leg to use the potty like the dog did. Needless to say, this went over really well with my family, but I never changed, and always had some kind of animal with me. So I am used to hearing that animals belong outside.

Animals on beds and couches that's absolutely disgusting in my opinion. My spouse doesn't like that either. Our chihuahua only understands arabic & french commands tho .

I suspect that my husband wouldn't want any pets in the house but he has no choice. I currently have 3 cats in the house and a spoiled brat of a dog in the house. I live with my mom and when I move she won't let me take the dog and the youngest cat but the other two are mine. There will be no discussion about whether they can come live with us. My cats are 17 and 14. I've known them much longer than him. They stay.. He says he understands but we'll see. Oh he also knows my dog Venus is going to try to tear him a new one when she meets him. She doesn't like males.

Giving up your dog or cat for a man? What did your pet ever do to you to deserve being dumped?

Really.I had a friend who just dumped her poor cats at the pound because "my Mario hates cats."

she shoulda dumped mario instead

I KNOW ! Especially since my ex-husband is named Mario.And guess what,they ended up getting a divorce,so she should have kept the cats.

Not in the house Ickk hairs in carpet , food and so on. I dont like eiather, and we basically live on a small farm..Thier is alos in the revelation where it says that near the end of times people will put more value on animals than they would fireinds, family , kids and humans. seems like this is happening more and more..

Rocketta, good luck on telling the MENA how he going to have to live with pet and so on in his own home..let us know how this oppositional defiant stance works for y ou in the long rung......

Thinking that animals belong outside is old school thinking. My grandparents were not Americans, my mother first generation, I grew up with my grandparents, aunts and uncles, they all said the same thing, but the second generation, my mother and uncle, all had pets, and not only pets, pampered pets. They just grew up different, my grandmother just learned to live with it, she never really liked that animals were in the home. I used to tell my Grandmother, that in Spain the dogs were not cared for, never had shots and lived wild. So of course they were dirty, but dogs here have shots, and sometimes eat better than humans. Just old fashion ideas from a different world, where you were lucky if you had enough to eat, and not worrying about the dog. I love my dog, chihuahua, he is my baby, that is the deal the dog is part of the package. But don't be hard on someone for giving their dog away for their spouse, I could understand, when you love someone, you just do things you think you would never think you would do. So I never say never, but at this time and place, yea, I will keep my dog, plus I am thinking fish!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

husband was scared to death of dogs when he came but with a family of dog lovers he had not choice but to stop being afraid..before u know it i had a puppy for our 2nd anniversary present. his orders were....u have to cage it when ur not around...i cryed and said thats no life for anyone even a dog so i just wont get it. got out of that condition. next condition, im not taking care of that animal. all she had to do is look up at him with her cute little face and that wiped that condition out too. next condition, she is not sleeping or even aloud in our room...guess who started sleeping on the couch with the dog cuz he felt sorry for her and guess who now is aloud to sleep with us in the bed? forget all the conditions, that little dog is the queen of this house now. first person he greets is the dog when coming home, im second and the cat is third, only cuz she dont like him very much but if she did...i would be third in line for attention.

oh well. its just so cute to see him with the animals and how they changed him.

That is a perfect example of animal love, I love that story, too funny. At least you are still second, that is precious.

my own mother in law, from jordan, old, and set in her ways....shoo'd the dog away for the first few days, then was sleeping next to him and feeding him beef hot dogs behind my back...i think for them its more of fear of the unknown, if they gave the pet a chance, they would love it to pieces!!

Oh it will work out one of two ways. We will live happily with my cats or he will live happily without me and my cats. That's not negotiable. I don't worry about dealing with a MENA man. He has to worry about dealing with an AA me.

the seven sleepers from surah al kahf had a dog with them. the dog's mentioned explicitly in verses 18 and 22. the dog was asleep the entire time they were, and not serving in any capacity as a watch dog or hunting dog. if that were the only allowed purpose for the animal, then he'd be pretty out of place in those verses. nevertheless, there he is.

Here is what I found on keeping dogs according to Islam though it is not my business what people keep in their homes:

http://www.islam-qa.com/index.php?ref=976&...am%20and%20dogs

Uh, no pets in the house?

Hehe! What cave did they come out of?

Dog, maybe - I could see that. Giving it a doghouse outside and a nice room to sit in where he's not wandering about ( I mean, I grew up in the USA - I have no probs with dogs - like them - but I wouldn't let my dog sleep in my bed or anything. )

My opinion - I don't trust people who don't like animals/pets.

That simple.

Some dirtbag I knew who didn't like pets (cats in particular) and called them "dirty" - their house was SO FILTHY that I felt the need to shower after stepping foot in that dump. A relative said - that our bathroom (here, in my house) is better than that same person's *entire* house.

Yeah, our bathroom. XD Try and tell ME that cats are dirty. [ erm, loonjobs keeping 10-50 cats don't count. The insane are insane. ]

From what I understand it's permissible to keep a dog.

Bleh, I've seen yes and no answers to the same questions on the net. Even so far as to "this food is halal" and "this food is not halal" for the same thing on different sites.

Take anything you read on the net with a grain of salt. [Hehe, like the barcode adventures here. I read it, I was thinking "WOW! I do barcodes all the time!" - I chose to wait out for the real deal instead of testing the waters.... I didn't want to chance waiting months extra to save a week. ]

As for keeping a dog - it's mentioned by people who are following the right way in the Quran. If it's good enough for the Quran, then it's good enough for me.

I have seen lots of people with dogs that love them so much and truly enjoy the dogs being around. I cannot blame people for being happy with their dogs when I enjoy having cats. Everyone has their preference. Also, I was raised with cats and not dogs so my tendency is to not want a dog though I though of getting one at one time just for extra protection. If I had gotten one, it would have been kept outside as I find it is a lot more work to keep a dog inside. I used to let my cats outside since that meant I had less to clean up of their mess, but it is impossible to restrain a cat outside and I felt horrible when I lost a cat to being ran over (hit and run) on the street. A dog can be restrained (usually, lol), but we all know cats go where they want. Now I keep my current cat inside which is safer for her and keeps her cleaner.

I only mention the site above because I had never found anything saying it was okay to keep dogs. If I see good evidence than I am likely to change my mind about if it is good to keep one. Though my husband jokes he will get a dog just to take out my cat, so maybe it is better I don't see this evidence!!!

Honestly, our dog loves it outside. When we bring him in - he's at the door scratching to go back out and run around.

Whenever there's a T-storm, we bring the poor guy in ... he's scared of thunder.

Same when it gets cold - out in the day, in at night ( with a nice heater right by his side ).

I think the real question is...does your cat approve of your husband?!?!?

Ramy didn't really want to have anything to do with the cat when he first arrived, and it appeared to be a mutual thing. Now he wants her to come pay attention to him and she just runs away from him and hides under the bed. You would think she'd be used to him after 5 months, especially since she used to love it when my guy friends would come over.