Muezza

According to the legend, Muhammad awoke one day to the sounds of the Adhan, the Muslim daily call to prayer. Preparing to attend, he began to dress himself; however, he soon discovered his cat Muezza sleeping on the sleeve of his prayer robe. Rather than wake her, he used a pair of scissors to cut the sleeve off, leaving the cat undisturbed. When he returned from the Mosque, Muhammad received a bow from Muezza in gratitude. He then stroked his beloved cat three times.

The accuracy of this story is not clear, as no references to it are made in the Quran or the Hadith, but rather by historical sources not considered religious texts in Islam.

Due primarily to the love Muhammad displayed for Muezza, Muslims are traditionally encouraged to regard cats as lovable and cherished creatures. Mistreating an animal is seen as among the most severe of all crimes in Islam.

I note that when St. Martin de Porres, the Latin-American-born saint was canonized, one thing in the testimony about his holiness was that he was kind to animals -- something the Spanish considered unusual. Since Muslims ruled much of Spain for centuries, it may be (pure speculation here) that kindness to animals was considered something for infidels, not for good Christians.