"The Prophet(s) told his companions of a woman who would be sent to Hell for having locked up a cat; not feeding it, nor even releasing it so that it could feed herself."

A companion of the Prophet was given the name Abu Hurrairah (pardon the spelling). This name means 'father of the cats'. He was given this name because he always had a kitten with him.

QUR'AN - [6:38] "All the creatures on earth, and all the birds that fly with wings, are communities like you. We did not leave anything out of this book.** To their Lord, all these creatures will be summoned. "