Pope Gregory IX’s War on Cats

 

Pope Gregory IX’s War on Cats

Date: 1233 CE

Story:
In the 13th century, Pope Gregory IX launched an unexpected war—not against heretics or invading armies, but against cats.
Specifically, he issued a papal bull titled Vox in Rama, which linked black cats to devil worship and Satanic rituals.
The decree claimed that black cats were part of diabolical ceremonies, describing scenes where cultists kissed the feline’s rear as part of satanic homage.
This bizarre declaration came at a time of growing hysteria around heresy, witchcraft, and the occult.
Gregory's edict spread fear across Christian Europe, prompting widespread slaughter of cats—especially black ones.

Communities purged their feline populations, believing they were purging evil.
But this religiously driven extermination had deadly consequences.
With cats gone, rat populations exploded—creating ideal conditions for the rapid spread of disease.
Many modern historians believe this feline genocide contributed to the spread of the Black Death in the following century, as rats carrying plague-infected fleas faced less natural predation.

While Gregory likely didn’t intend mass ecological collapse, his papal bull fueled one of the strangest and most destructive superstitions in Church history.
Over time, cats—especially black ones—remained symbols of witchcraft and bad luck for centuries to come.
This papal fear of cats left a haunting legacy that shaped folklore, literature, and even Halloween traditions.

Key Characters: Pope Gregory IX, black cats, medieval inquisitors
Reference: Vox in Rama (1233), Medieval Papal Decrees, Historical analyses of the Black Death and European superstition