Cats have always been a bit indifferent to the whims of humanity. Unlike dogs, they are not automatically subservient towards humans. Also, cats are quite active at night and engage in loud mating rituals. In doing so, they go against the biblical view that humans should have domination over animals.
Thus, they came under suspicion during the Middle Ages. They were said to be practicing natural powers and witchcraft. Most accused witches were older peasant women who lived alone and kept cats as pets. They and their cats were burned at the stake.
In the early 13th century, Pope Gregory IX accused a sect in southern France of devil worship. The devil, he said, appeared in the form of a black cat. Cats officially became the symbol of heresy and those who showed any affection towards cats came under the church’s suspicion.
Due to the systematic persecution of cats, by the beginning of the 14th century, Europe’s cat population had been reduced to only a few semi-wild cats in many areas.