Got a furry feline in your family? According to the Canadian Animal Health Institute, your kitty is one of 8.1 million living in Canadian households. With cats outnumbering dogs, their popularity shows no signs of stopping. Yet in medieval Europe, anti-feline superstitions reigned supreme. What prompted these strange beliefs? Did cats contribute to the plague’s high death tolls across the continent? A quick trip through history provides answers to these intriguing questions.
Medieval Catholicism and Anti-Feline Bias
“In ancient times cats were worshipped as gods; they have not forgotten this.” We laugh at this humorous quip from English author Sir Terry Pratchett. Yet it reflects the status our feline friends held in the ancient world. Even in 17th-century Japan, cats were bringers of good fortune. The legend of Maneki Neko, or “Beckoning Cat,” credits the titular feline with saving a samurai from lightning strikes.
Yet the story was much different in 13th-century Europe. The World History Encyclopedia reveals that medieval Europeans tolerated cats. They provided pest control but were not companions or pets. But distaste for felines later grew into hatred, thanks to the Catholic Church. Museum Hack’s Alex Johnson mentions a papal bull from Pope Gregory IX describing a cat-worshipping cult. Medievalists.net lists more examples, including a quote from Pope Innocent VIII. “The cat was the devil’s favorite animal and idol of all witches,” he wrote in 1484 C.E.
Why did this happen? Historian Desmond Morris says it best. “Religious bigots have often employed the cunning device of converting other people’s heroes into villains to suit their own purpose,” he writes in his 1993 book “Catlore.” Ancient Egypt’s household protectors became medieval Europe’s villains. Peasants and nobles alike tortured and killed cats, sometimes by the thousands.
Mapping the Plague’s Spread
If you know anything about the Middle Ages, then you’ve probably heard about the plague. Multiple outbreaks occurred between the 14th and 17th centuries. The Black Death ravaged most of Europe, Asia, and Northern Africa. While it’s difficult to figure out exactly how many people died, estimates run as high as 25 million.
The World Health Organization explains that the disease comes from Yersinia pestis bacteria. Rat fleas are a prime carrier, transmitting the bacteria to humans through their bites. Given the domestic feline’s proclivity for killing rats, it’s easy to blame medieval Europeans’ cat massacres for the Black Death. But does this assumption hold up against historical fact?
Alex Johnson takes this myth apart in his Museum Hack piece. The first plague outbreaks occurred in Asia during the 1330s. The disease had spread to Constantinople, now modern-day Istanbul, by 1347 C.E. Yet history reveals no instances of mass cat killing in Asia or Turkey.
Cats were also popular in the Islamic world. But their rat-killing habits couldn’t stop the Black Death. The plague barreled through Egypt, Syria, Morocco, Tunisia, and the Arabian Peninsula. And even where cat populations declined, they could quickly rebound. The average intact female births 12 kittens per year. A couple of mother cats can have enough litters to save a local colony from dying out.
Myths, Correlation, Causation, and Bias
We now understand that killing felines didn’t lead to the plague’s spread. Yet anti-feline sentiments in medieval Europe show some key things about human nature. When crises arise and knowledge is scarce, it’s easy to scapegoat someone or something. In these unfortunate situations, marginalized groups often become targets.
We aren’t associating cats with evil anymore. But othering – the “us vs. them” dichotomy – can lead to discrimination and scapegoating. The current wave of anti-Asian violence in Canada is just one example. Critical thinking is always vital. And checking our own biases is an important step in combating prejudice and avoiding unjust blame.
