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Originally Posted by mrblanche  Totalitarian governments have a long history of viewing pets as an evil waste of resources. Pets were illegal in China for quite a while, weren't they? And I suppose it IS true that they absorb some resources.
To some extent, however, the pet food industry uses foods that are unfit for human consumption, and they were originally conceived to use up animal slaughter byproducts.
I guess a case could be made.
Does anyone know how Jews feel about cats? I know they're not mentioned in the Bible, but by all the definitions in Leviticus, they would have to be considered unclean animals, so touching a live cat would make a strict Jew unclean until sunset, right?
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I don't know about Jews but I know Christians didn't like them in the Middle Ages.
Result:Bubonic Plague
Read more at Suite101: Cats and the Black Plague: Persecution of Felines Increased the Death Toll for Humans
http://cats.suite101.com/article.cfm...#ixzz0xqPCKsti
Pope Gregory IX told people that domestic cats were diabolical in 1232, fueling anti-cat sentiment, and this prejudice worsened over the years. Cats were not subservient and tended to be noisy at night, which caused them to be viewed with suspicion. Many superstitious people began to associate them with the devil.
Large numbers of cats and their owners were executed after being accused of witchcraft in the years leading up to the Black Plague, and for hundreds of years thereafter. Totals vary widely from one historian to the next for both “witches” and cats killed. However, it is safe to say that a large proportion of Europe’s domestic cats were slain, either on suspicion of being Satan’s familiars or as part of the mass animal killings that people undertook in a desperate attempt to control the Plague later on. Dogs were also slain in these mass killings, which removed another of the rat’s natural predators.
When I googled JEWS CATS this is what I got
"Judaism places great stress on proper treatment of animals. Unnecessary cruelty to animals is strictly forbidden, and in many cases, animals are accorded the same sensitivity as human beings. This concern for the welfare of animals is unusual in Western civilization"
"Under Jewish law, animals have some of the same rights as humans do. Animals rest on Shabbat, as humans do (Ex. 20:10). We are forbidden to muzzle an ox to prevent it from eating while it is working in the field "
"Jewish law does not prohibit keeping pets, and indeed many observant Jews have dogs, cats or other household pets, though Jewish law does raise some complications for pet owners.
As with all animals, we are required to feed our pets before ourselves, and make arrangements for feeding our pets before we obtain them. Also, like all animals, household pets are entitled to Sabbath rest, thus you cannot have your dog retrieve the paper for you on Shabbat, etc."
Oh, and this.
