I said: "My Master, what about the bird that perhaps drops its waste upon its bearer?" He said: "That is because it was far from the human transition. Such is the behavior of the dog, the cat, and all other species [when far from transition]. Our discourse, O Mufaddal, concerns only the 'Return' (al-Karra) from which one is transferred until they resemble humanity."

I said: "I ask you for the final reaching?" He said: "To Us is their return."

Furthermore, you can observe the movements, gait, eating, drinking, and sleeping of each one of them, and you will find they resemble and match the behaviors of cattle. For instance, the muleteer carries a burden as heavy as that of a donkey and walks with a donkey’s gait. The camel driver carries nearly the same load as the camel he drives; he finds no pleasure in food or drink unless he is carrying a load, and his sleep is only restful when he is near his beast.

The monkey-trainer does not sleep unless he is close to his monkey or with it; he feeds it from what he eats himself and cannot bear to be away from it for a single hour. The dog-handler does not sleep until he sees his dog sleeping beside him or until he feeds it from his own food. The plowman does not sit except near [his ox], and life is not pleasant for him except in its presence. The pigeon-fancier neither eats nor drinks except among his birds. Another is a cat-owner who will not eat or drink until he feeds the cat from his finest food.