The Ruling on Raising Cats and Buying Them

Question:
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, is it permissible to keep cats, or are they like dogs? And is it permissible to buy them?

Answer:
Buying them? No. Buying them is not permissible, nor is selling them, because they cannot be owned. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade the price of a cat, just as he forbade the price of a dog, so they are not to be sold or bought. However, there is nothing wrong with keeping them; one may keep a cat. The evidence is the hadith of the woman who entered the Fire because of a cat she had locked up; he said to her: The cat is beneficial in the house, because the cat has a benefit in the house; the cat has a benefit in the house, it eats insects and mice. Yes.