We raise some poultry in our homes, and recently they were attacked by stray cats, which ate many of them.

The questioner : His second question: We raise some poultry in our homes, and recently they were attacked by stray cats, which ate many of them and caused us harm. Please note that the pigeons the cats ate are kept in a secure tower; after the Maghrib prayer, we close that window, and in the morning we open it for the pigeons to go out into the courtyard. The cats attacked during the day after we had left for work. We tried several times to drive them away, but the cats continued their attacks. After that, we were forced to put poison in the food scraps, and the cats actually died. What is the ruling in the Shari'ah, in your opinion, regarding this action of ours?

The Shaykh : Yes. There is nothing wrong with the action you took. If someone attacks a person or his property, he is allowed to defend himself, even if that leads to the killing of the attacker. As for these cats that were attacking the pigeons and could not be driven off by driving them away, you are permitted to kill them, either with a gun or with poison. However, be careful regarding the matter of the poison so that no other animal that is not harmed by it eats it and is thereby harmed, while it has not harmed you. You should place this poison in a location where only these ordinary cats can reach it. If the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) permitted a person who is attacked by a human being and cannot be repelled except by killing to kill him, then how much more so is it with an animal whose sanctity does not reach the sanctity of a human being. Yes.

The questioner : May Allah bless you.