Cats, people and the black plague: those who had cats survived

In the long history of human-animal relationships, a few episodes stand out in which one species has made a significant contribution to the survival of another. Rarely do cats get credit for such an achievement, more often dogs or horses, and then usually in times of war, but Europe’s Black Death is one of those times.

By way of background, the ancient Romans, in their conquest of Egypt, had brought cats to Europe. Later, cats suffered a period of dislike during the superstitious Middle Ages, because they had been associated with witches and the devil; Some people believed that black cats were witches in disguise or that they helped witches perform their trade. Those who kept cats as pets were the subject of much suspicion, and widespread cat hunting nearly drove them to extinction.

When rats from Asia brought the bubonic plague to Europe via trading ships in the mid-13th century, the epidemic (known as the Black Death, the Great Plague, the Black Death, and the Great Mortality) spread across the continent, causing devastating loss of human life. In total, a third of Europe’s population died, some 34 million people. In England alone more than half the human population perished; in some parts of France, ninety percent.

It took the authorities some time to figure out the cause of the problem. At one point, they tested the theory that cats and dogs spread the disease; thus, the mayor of London ordered the execution of all those pets. However, despite the extermination of millions of pets, the plague did not abate, but rather accelerated, as, of course, the removal of all cats was soon followed by an explosion in the rat population.

It eventually became clear that people who had owned cats, in violation of the law, fared better; because cats, according to their nature, killed the rats that carried the fleas that actually carried the plague. Little by little people began to deduce the rat-flea-disease connection. When the truth finally came out, the cats were quickly elevated to hero status and soon protected by law.

The Great Plague ended when fleas began to die, as part of their natural life cycle, in the cold of fall and winter. Later plagues would visit Europe for successive generations, and other continents suffered similar outbreaks; It would not be until the 19th century that scientists really began to understand the epidemiology of the plague. Improved sanitation over time helped reduce its incidence, and with the discovery of antibiotics in the 20th century, the threat of the plague was greatly reduced.

Would it be an exaggeration to say that by controlling the rodent population, cats saved humans from extinction? At least European humans? At the very least, cats deserve credit for heroically saving the species that ignorantly nearly wiped them out.

(C) Lisa J Lehr 2006