The Black Plague: Revenge of the Cats?

If it hadn’t been for the common house cat, the human populations in European countries might have been completely wiped out hundreds of years ago by the Black Plague, also known as the Black Death. It raged across the continent sporadically for four hundred years, leaving widespread devastation and death in its path. It is widely believed to have been brought to Europe from Asia in the mid-14th century. The Black Plague wasn’t just one outbreak; it swept through Europe for a couple of years, died out, and resurged almost every generation or so up until the 1700s. Domestic cats proved to be important players in the pandemic. The rise and fall of cat populations had a direct effect on the plague, and without them, Europeans could have ultimately met their complete demise, theoretically speaking.

Fatalities from the initial outbreak were devastating. In some regions of England, for example, half of the population was wiped out. Parts of France suffered even more, with the death toll rising to almost 90%. And it was a horrible death. Those infected with the bubonic form of the plague experienced painful swollen lymph nodes called “buboes,” headache, fever, gangrene, nausea, vomiting, and weakness. The pneumonic form was even worse. Those poor souls infected with the grisly disease had terrible coughs that produced copious amounts of bloody sputum, with almost 95% of its victims drowning in their own fluids.

The disease was spread by fleas on rats. The fleas would bite an infected rat and become infected themselves. When the host rat died, the fleas, looking for a new home, would attach themselves to humans and infect them with the plague. The rats largely responsible for the first plague were black rats, smaller cousins of the large brown rats that eventually replaced the black rodents. So what exact role did cats play in all of this?

To really understand the Black Plague, you have to know a little something about Medieval European society. A look at art from the era after about 1350 gives an insight into the general attitude of the period. The people had a morbid fascination with death and the dark forces of the Devil. They saw evil lurking everywhere, and their lives became governed by superstition. Cats that had been introduced to Europeans from the Romans returning from Egypt, at first very popular because of their ratting and mousing skills, came to be thought of as Satan’s minions. People who kept cats as pets to help with rodent control or as pets were often believed to be witches. A widespread cat-killing spree ensued, and cat populations vastly decreased.

Of course, this annihilation came to haunt the superstitious medieval folk. With so many cats gone, the rat populations soared, making the plague even more widespread and virulent in its attack. Then the cats took another blow. People began to believe that the plague was actually spread by dogs and cats, and some areas of Europe outlawed these animals, with millions of pets being slaughtered. By the height of the Middle Ages, cats were almost completely obliterated in England and other areas. Instead of halting the progress of the plague, it only added to its ferocity. The rats’ proliferation was out of control.

Eventually, people began to notice that cat owners who had unlawfully kept their feline companions often seemed to avoid the plague. Once more observations and research discovered that it was the rats, and not the cats, that were the culprits guilty of spreading the deadly disease, the cats were exonerated, and the feline population made a quick comeback. In some parts of Europe, cats were even protected by law. The happy meows of cats and kittens were again heard across the land, from the barns to the peasants’ huts to the stately stone castles.

Of course, we have no way of knowing what would have happened to the course of the plague had it not been for the rebounding feline population. But we can certainly assume that the rats would have multiplied exponentially, unchecked by their natural predators, the humble house cats. Just think, if it weren’t for the much-persecuted innocent kitties saving mankind from the rat-borne menace, those of us with European ancestors might not be here today!