Not to mention that the Jews didn’t make the mistake of killing off the cats which killed the transport mechanism of the plague - rats.
There was a terrible epidemic of antiwitchcraft activity in central Europe, which included killing many women, especially old ones, and cats. I recall reading that Nostradamus encouraged using Vitamin C containing rose hips, which helped. There are 3 phases of the plague which have varying lethality. Bubonic from flea bites, characterized by swollen bloody lymph glands, the least lethal; pneumonic, spread airborne, highly lethal; and septicemic, blood poisoning, totally fatal. Defoes “Journal of the Plague Years” is very informative.
Regarding rats, the primary vector in Europe seems to have been the brown (or black?) rat which is an upper story dweller. The Norwegian rat is a basement/sewer rat. While it may have been the initial carrier from ships, apparently it was the other rats that lived more closely with people that did the most damage. Any information on Jewish practices with regard to rats and housecleaning?
that “cat” item is quoted all the time, but I’ve never seen a scientific study on it.
The European “witch craze” was about 200 years after the black plague, and of course the black plague was world wide, not just in Europe.