Rome's Furry Fiasco: The war on Cats

The "cat plague" in Rome, Italy, refers to a series of events during the 14th century, particularly in 1347, when the bubonic plague, also known as the Black Death, ravaged Europe. During this time, cats were mistakenly believed to be carriers of the disease, and as a result, they were targeted for extermination in an attempt to control the spread of the plague.

Pope Clement VI, in a misguided effort to combat the plague, issued a papal bull in 1347 that declared war on Rome's burgeoning cat population. Thousands of cats were rounded up and killed, leading to a dramatic reduction in the city's feline inhabitants.

However, this mass extermination of cats had unintended consequences. Without their natural predators, the rat population in Rome exploded. Rats were the true carriers of the plague, as they harbored fleas infected with the bacterium Yersinia pestis, which caused the disease. With fewer cats to control the rat population, the spread of the plague accelerated, contributing to further outbreaks of the disease.

The "cat plague" in Rome serves as a tragic example of the consequences of misinformation and misguided attempts to control disease outbreaks. It highlights the importance of understanding the science behind disease transmission and the dangers of scapegoating innocent animals in times of crisis.