“The plague,” the contagious disease that ravaged
Europe in the Middle Ages, is still around and still caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Then as now, the germ is carried by flea-bearing rodents, and cats can get the germ by eating infected
rodents or by being bitten by fleas that have bitten infected rodents. While the infection is no longer common, it is serious
business when a cat or any animal is infected with the plague. Cats can transmit the disease to humans through scratches or bites.
