In case you need some cocktail conversation – Pope Gregory IX declared war on cats in the 13th Century, issuing a Papal Bull Vox In Rama. He said that black cats were instruments of Satan. Because of this belief, he ordered the extermination of these felines throughout Europe.
However, this plan backfired, because the killing of so many cats likely contributed to the spread of plague, as the rodents carrying them flourished without their natural enemy hunting them.
And so it goes
The Haus of Dcaligari 