The deadliest epidemic in human history was the Black Death in the 14th Century. There are a lot of historians who believe that the staggering death toll in Europe from the Black Death as well as many other epidemics was due to the disappearance of cats. In the Middle Ages, people associated cats with Satan. It could be dangerous to own a cat. In many places, owning a cat was considered evidence that a person was a witch, and that was punishable by death. Over the past 1,000 years, many European countries developed religious holidays and festivals in which cats were tortured or killed. Many cat-killing holidays are still celebrated in Europe, although now without actually killing cats, like Kattenstoet in Belgium. This year, the Danish holiday of Fastelavn will fall on February 14. It is celebrated all over Denmark. Fastelavn is like a carnival based on torturing cats. Traditionally, a cat was sealed inside a barrel. Then, children dressed in costumes would hit the barrel with clubs and bats to terrorize the cat before knocking it unconscious or killing it. Danes stopped doing that in the late 1800s. Now, Danish children just hit a picture of cats on barrels filled with candy. They hit the cats until the candy falls out of the barrel. It’s like a Danish pinata. See pictures below. I have never figured out why so many people associate cats with evil. I think this may have something to do with the aloof and independent nature of cats, but that’s just a guess.

CAT AND MOUSE CARTOONS.

In cat and mouse cartoons, the mice always outwit the cat and terrible things happen to the cat. That’s true in Tom & Jerry cartoons, Speedy Gonzales vs. Sylvester cartoons, Hubie & Bert vs. Claude Cat, the mice who are Cinderella’s friends vs. Lucifer the cat, plus TV shows such as Dixie & Pixie vs. Mr. Jinx, and most violent of all – Itchy & Scratchy on The Simpsons. However, we human beings are very lucky to have cats. Cats kill over 20 billion rodents a year. Without cats, the rodent population of the world would explode, creating famine and epidemics. Even now, staggering amounts of grain are eaten by rodents, especially in poor countries. In Bihar, one of India’s poorest states, 50% of all the grain produced is eaten by rodents. Rodents are also the principal carriers of more than 60 diseases. I understand why people root for the little guy in cat and mouse cartoons, but humanity would be in a lot of trouble if mice and rats could actually outwit cats.