Cats from the Middle Ages
During the Middle Ages, cats went on living their charming life throughout the world, whereas in Europe cats were not as fortunate. Due to their relationship with paganism, cats were denounced as evil creatures by the Catholic Church. They suffered persecution for 500 years. It was believed that cats were Satan’s favorite creatures. Old ladies that lived alone with their cats were often condemned as witches and their feline companions as spiritual family members and both were to be drowned or burned at the stake.
Docile Cats
British Carey cats are usually female. Only one out of 200 of them are males, and inevitably sterile. They have an extra female chromosome; this is why they are more calm and docile than other male cats.
Cats as Domestic Pets
In the seventeenth century cats had regained the acceptance of all and have yet to loose their respect. They have become pampered as house pets and recently have come to be adored by all. Ever since the last century a cat’s lifetime has increased remarkably. In earlier times they were appreciated for their useful skills for hunting rats and mice, whereas now they are also used as faithful companions and pampered with food and a warm home to live in.
Due to the killing of so many cats in the Middle Ages, the population of rats in Europe had increased. Rat’s germs and fleas was what produced the Bubonic Plague (“the black death”), which killed more than 25 million people between the fourteenth and seventeenth century.
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