Zulaikha and Taffy the Cat

 ZULAIKHA AND TAFFY THE CAT

Those who are kind and considerate to Allah's creatures, Allah bestows His kindness and affection on them. Show kindness to the creatures on the earth so that Allah may be kind to you. (Hadith - Abu Dawud and Tirmidhi)

Taffy the cat is gray and white and tiger striped. He's the pet of one little girl with brown curls, named Zulaikha Elsbeth.

He's an aristocrat, old Taffy the cat. Though he comes from a long line of alley felines, he's regal through and through.

Zulaikha sees to that. Nothing is too good for her cat. She gives in to his every whim -- strokes under the chin and gourmet tuna from a tin.

Taffy the cat is equally well groomed and perfumed. Never a hair nor a whisker is ever out of place. And ribbons and bows dangle 'round his face. Suffice it to say, it's Zulaikha's way of keeping her Taffy preened and cleaned.

Even when Taffy the cat scrapes up a fight with a rat or another cat, Zulaikha fears one nasty bite might well do him in. So she always shouts to him, “Taffy, come! Come here!”.

When for days it appears Taffy has gone away and is napping nowhere near Zulaikhha's bunk or her daddy's car trunk, she often misses her little dear.

But when he reappears at the neighbor's house next door, it's all hugs and kisses for him.

The same was true the day Zulaikha stepped on Taffy's paw and he scratched her with his claws. Zulaikha cried, “Ow!” and off he fled.

Only to later return and meow. “Sorry is what he meant,” says Zulaikha. Now all is on the mend and the two are great friends again.

There is no end to Zulaikha's love for Taffy the cat. Nor would there be if he were a gnat or a dove. Because she knows Allah commands her so, to care for them all, no matter how large or small. 

©1997. "Zulaikha and Taffy the Cat" by Timm Breyel. All rights reserved. No part of this story may be copied, broadcast, reproduced in print or electronically represented without permission from the author.