Kabsha, who was married to the son of Abu Qatada, reported that Abu Qatada once came in to see her. She said, "I poured out water for him to perform ablution, when a cat came and began to drink from it. He tilted the vessel toward the cat until it had drunk its fill."Kabsha continued, "He noticed me watching him and asked, 'Does this surprise you, my niece?'"I replied, "Yes."He said, "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, 'Cats are not impure. They are among those who go about among you.'"Some narrators have reported it from Malik with the wording, "She was married to Abu Qatada," but the correct version is, "She was married to the son of Abu Qatada."
حدثنا إسحق بن موسى الأنصاري حدثنا معن حدثنا مالك بن أنس عن إسحق بن عبد الله بن أبي طلحة عن حميدة بنت عبيد بن رفاعة
وكانت عند ابن أبي قتادة أن أبا قتادة دخل عليها قالت فسكبت له وضوءا قالت فجاءت هرة تشرب فأصغى لها الإناء حتى شربت قالت كبشة فرآني أنظر إليه فقال أتعجبين يا بنت أخي فقلت نعم قال إن رسول الله ﷺ قال إنها ليست بنجس إنما هي من الطوافين عليكم أو الطوافات وقد روى بعضهم عن مالك وكانت عند أبي قتادة والصحيح ابن أبي قتادة
[Its isnad is sahih]. Abu Dawud (no. 75), Ibn Majah (no. 367), and Nasai (1/55, no. 68) reported it from the hadith of Malik through this route, and it is in Muwatta (1/22, Yahya's version). Ibn Khuzayma (no. 104), Ibn Hibban (no. 121), Bukhari, Daraqutni (1/70), Hakim (1/160), and others graded it sahih.On this topic there is also a report from Ayesha, Ibn Majah (no. 368), which has another route in Ibn Khuzayma (no. 102), and from Abu Hurairah, Ibn Majah (no. 369) and Ibn Khuzayma (no. 103).