If you’ve been on social media during Ramadan, you might have come across the confused faces and sleepy eyes of cats. For the past few years, Ramadan cats have slowly been gaining the attention of the public.
Ramadan is a sacred time in Islam that is believed to be the time that the Qur’an was revealed to the Prophet Muhammed. During Ramadan, those practicing must not eat or drink anything from dawn until sunset, only eating at two times: Suhoor and Iftar. This is done for about a month until the holiday of Eid-al Fitr, which celebrates the end of Ramadan. Depending on when Ramadan begins and ends and depending on your location, it can mean waking up extra early or staying up late to break your fast.
Just to clarify, pets and animals are not required to practice Ramadan. They can still eat at normal times. When their owners get up for Suhoor, the meal before sunrise, pets often wake up as well. If they are used to sleeping through the night and eating their meals at a later time, this can be quite a confusing moment for them. Oftentimes, pets just fall back asleep, but the moments that they are briefly awake (if you can even call it “awake”) are nothing but adorable.
On social media platforms, people will joke about feeding their cats early, watching them fall asleep halfway through eating, then waking up at a normal time to continue eating—breaking their nonrequired fast. One prominent account goes by the name “Sister Minnie,” referring to one of the account owner’s cats.
The account owner will record her cat expectantly waiting for food and jokingly explaining to viewers, “Sister Minnie has fasted for a whole ten minutes today.” Other times, she will record Sister Minnie lounging on the owner’s prayer rug, saying that “Sister Minnie is praying for a husband,” and sometimes updating viewers that the cat did not attack her at all during prayer time—until the cat proceeds to attack her hand.
While Ramadan cats are becoming popular on social media, the trend is also helping to spread awareness about Ramadan. By showing how much these cats seem invested in their owners’ lives, they also explain and demonstrate parts of Islamic practice and religion. Outside viewers can learn more about greetings in the religion, prayer times such as fajr, and—if your cat loves to attack you—just how difficult it can be to complete parts of prayer such as ruku, bowing, or sujud, prostrating.
If you know someone who is celebrating Ramadan this year, be sure to tell them “Ramadan Mubarak,” which means “Blessed Ramadan.”