Muslim launches UK’s first halal cat food

A MUSLIM businessman has launched a line of halal cat food after being frustrated by the lack of options for his pets.

Aihtsham Rashid started his business, Hurayra, after struggling to find pet food compliant with Islam’s halal teachings, in which animals must be slaughtered using a specific method.

Hurayra is the first to receive a 100 per cent certification from the halal monitoring committee.

Mr Rashid, who is based in Leeds, said: “After facing the frustration of finding quality halal cat food for my cats, I was inspired to take action.”

The businessman said he and some other Muslims follow teachings that prohibit them from buying and bringing into their homes non-halal – or

“haram” – products, even when they are not meant for human consumption.

Mr Rashid decided to launch his own brand, travelling to Malaysia in search of a supplier who could ensure no cross-contamination after being unable to find one in the UK.

‘It is agreed that how you feed yourself is how you’re supposed to feed your pet. That’s the main reason’

He struck a deal with a firm in the strict Muslim country. The products are to go on sale this summer with three flavours – ocean fish, tuna and chicken – and a kitten food.

In an interview with the Islam Channel,

Mr Rashid said there were plans to expand the halal products to other pets such as dogs, fish and birds.

He said: “It is agreed that how you feed yourself is how you’re supposed to feed your pet. That’s the main reason, and bringing haram into your home is not permissible. As a Muslim you cannot feed haram to your pet in your home.”

Mr Rashid estimated there are 800,000 Muslim cat owners across the UK, of the 3.9 million people who practise Islam recorded in 2021, according to the Office for National Statistics.

The brand is named after Abu Hurayra, a companion of the prophet Mohammed who is known as the religion’s father of cats. For meat to comply as halal, the animal must be killed by cuts to specific veins to drain all blood from the carcass.