The Edict That Marked the Cat as an Enemy
Between 1227 and 1241, Pope Gregory IX led the Catholic Church through a time of growing superstition. In 1233, he issued Vox in Rama, a papal bull that associated cats—particularly black ones—with satanic rituals. This decree triggered widespread fear, and soon, across Europe, cats were hunted and killed. The belief that cats carried the spirit of the devil spread quickly through religious communities, leaving black cats especially targeted.
The Unintended Consequence: Rats Took Over
The campaign against cats had broader consequences than the Church expected. With fewer cats roaming towns and countryside, rodent populations exploded. Centuries later, during the Black Death, some historians pointed to this earlier extermination as a contributing factor to the plague’s rapid spread—fleas on unchecked rats carried the disease. The irony was sharp: in killing cats to fight perceived evil, people unknowingly removed their best defense against a real one.
Witch Hunts and Familiar Fears
By the 15th century, the association between cats and evil had deepened. During witch hunts, cats were again targeted—this time as supposed companions to witches. Both women and their pets were persecuted. The killings continued for generations, long after Pope Gregory IX’s original decree.
An Idea That Lingered for Centuries
Though cat killings eventually slowed, the stigma remained. In Elizabethan England, during Queen Elizabeth I’s coronation, an effigy of a cat stuffed with live animals was burned in public. The Church’s war on cats had lasting effects—not just for the animals, but for the people entangled in the fear it sparked.
In the 13th century, Pope Gregory IX issued a decree that would launch a bizarre and deadly campaign.
Claiming cats, especially black ones, were linked to Satan, he branded them enemies of the Church. What followed was a mass extermination that would echo through history.🧵👇 pic.twitter.com/SvaizNJtbB
— Detective Tiger’s Stories (@TigerDetective) April 12, 2025