Comments on: Did Pope Gregory IX Order A Medieval Purge of Black Cats That Caused the Black Death?

By: Damian McSorley

Damian McSorley — Sun, 10 May 2020 13:38:53 +0000

“ But feline-human relations deteriorated sometime in the early 1230s (CE) when Pope Gregory IX issued a papal bull called Vox in Rama. This bull, the story goes, declared cats as the instruments of Satan, and set Medieval Europe on a great cat purge, with special attention paid to black cats, who were particularly Luciferian.” I laughed to I almost passed out… One thing though some of the “Pussy Persecution” may have derived from the Witch connection.

By: Liath

Liath — Thu, 23 Apr 2020 22:03:09 +0000

Good read, thanks! I’d already discounted that idea. As I understand it, people used small dogs for rat hunting. Cats don’t generally take on rats. The flea that bit humans was specific to the black rat anyway. So as you say, cats couldn’t have contained bubonic plague. Besides, it mutated into septicemic and pneumonic forms, thus spreading even faster. In any case, the various popes saw nothing wrong with burning heretics alive, so they already had a savage reputation. Poor cats though.

By: Merwin

Merwin — Thu, 02 Apr 2020 12:51:05 +0000

I would suggest that there’s more to the story. Nature tries to maintain a balance .. dogs, cats, chickens, and snakes all relate well to preying upon rats and fleas.

By: Robert

Robert — Sun, 29 Mar 2020 16:12:04 +0000

Excellent and very funny read! Thanks!

By: Bradley

Bradley — Thu, 19 Mar 2020 14:09:41 +0000

In reply to Domina English.

Yes I agree with you on this as we can never judge history in modern times
For example
1958 China Chairman Mao and the great leap forward he had designs on wiping out the four evils
One of these was the sparrow!
He said they ate too much grain and it was the responsibility of every person to kill a sparrow if they saw one and they were not to give up until they achieved it !!.. People banged drums and kept the sparrow in the air not permitting them to land until they died of exhaustion!
They were hunted into extinction !
Following years brought the great plaque of insects!
Locusts and every other kind because the sparrow not only ate grain but also insects the great 3 year famin followed and the official Chinese records showed 15 million people died of starvation but later studies done by experts from outside of China say the official numbers are fudged badly in an optimistic attempt to cover the true death toll of around 45 million plus some even say as high as 70 million!! As it went into the fourth and fifth years !
Now this seems like a story of immense fiction but as it happened so recently in this modern time we have documented proof this is true so why is it so hard to believe the Pope and cat story?
As we are. Constantly told the Truth is stranger than fiction!!!

By: Brad

Brad — Thu, 19 Mar 2020 13:29:16 +0000

In reply to ANNA. Yeah you have a good point there! A bit hard to read when YOU ARE SCREAMING AT ME though!

By: New England

New England — Sun, 08 Mar 2020 22:49:15 +0000

Thanks for publishing! Next the myth of toxoplasmosis!

By: Domina English

Domina English — Sat, 29 Feb 2020 21:24:05 +0000

One small fact you haven’t taken account of here. In fact, most people who believe the ‘Europeans wiped out cats which caused the Black Death bull crap, is that cats weren’t the only animals used for catching rats. Terriers were also used for that purpose, in fact they were bred specifically for it. We know they had terrier like dogs in Medieval Europe and that they were used as ratters.

https://historycollection.co/thou-shalt-not-suffer-a-cat-to-live-why-pope-gregory-ixs-vox-in-rama-implicated-cats-in-devil-worship/3/

Of course, there’s also the wee tiny fact that the paranoia about ‘witchcraft’ didn’t really start to get into full swing until the 16th and 17th century, and that included black cats. https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/learn/histories/eight-witchcraft-myths/

The truth is that cats could not have prevented the black death. For one, rate outnumber cats by a huge margin, like everywhere, and always have. Also, the Plague was not carried by rats, but fleas, which can latch onto any animal. Cats, dogs, horses, humans. Indeed, there is evidence of animals dying from the Plague.

The final point though is that contemporary accounts and the examination of modern doctors and historians of the evidence from them has shown bacteria that caused the Black Death can take the form of a lung infection called pneumonic plague, which was spread easily between humans. https://emergency.cdc.gov/agent/plague/factsheet.asp

By: Sandra Bee

Sandra Bee — Tue, 25 Feb 2020 18:15:29 +0000

Interesting article. I am here because of a PBS documentary on cats that I saw recently. It mentioned Pope Gregory’s hate on for cats. Not sure I am convinced either way, but people (especially those who prefer dogs) do like to hate on cats, so it is not a stretch to believe that they have been killed en masse in any era. I don’t know what to make of the author’s contention that we like to hate on the middle ages. We may not be that much superior to that time frame, but we have learned a thing or two since then, I hope. Just want to add that I like pretty much all animals, even dogs, but I am a cat person. Cats are not assholes, as this writer and many dog lovers like to repeat endlessly (and it’s SO tiresome to listen). Cats just aren’t dogs, and I respect and love them specifically for that reason. Dog lovers, please get over it.
ps. The PBS documentary pointed out that cats don’t have the musculature in their faces to reproduce human-like facial expressions the way dogs do, which is probably the main reason people think they are aloof and why they think dogs are so much more companionable (cause we love things that are more like us).

By: Leigh Stewart

Leigh Stewart — Fri, 21 Feb 2020 15:28:29 +0000

Truly great article, thank you!