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To: Hiddigeigei
I once read that a pope declared cats creatures of the Devil and ordered the people of Europe to get rid of them. Not long after the outbreak of rats led to the Black Death.

Many areas of Europe were obsessed with witches and believed witches could inhabit cats. As a result people did not want cats around. I don't think any pope played a role in this.

There is actually pretty good data showing that areas with cats had much less plague than other areas.

60 posted on 10/31/2015 9:31:06 AM PDT by Straight Vermonter (Liberals support high taxes on alcohol, tobacco and wealth. And all for the same reason.)
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To: Straight Vermonter
I don't think any pope played a role in this.

I do not believe everything I read, but according to Wikipedia, it was Pope Gregory IX (Vox in Rama) that demonized cats.
69 posted on 10/31/2015 10:28:26 AM PDT by Hiddigeigei ("Talk sense to a fool and he calls you foolish," said Dionysus - Euripides)
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