The Life of Infamous Cats or the Birth of the Animal Shelters: The Case of Germany

Abstract

Although it is not conventional for non-human beings to be included in historical narratives, their traces can be found in existing assemblages. Non-human beings are subject to similar dynamics of violence, care, or power relations. This study explores the difficult question of which beings are allowed to live in public spaces through the relationship established with cats during the German Empire. The simultaneous but different degrees of violence and care applied to domestic animals during this period, which coincided with the development of animal protection literature and practices, led to their exclusion from public spaces. Based on archival research at the Geheimes Staatsarchiv Preußischer Kulturbesitz (GStA PK), the process of collecting cats from the streets and killing them will be analyzed in the context of bio- and necropolitical apparatuses, environmentalist discourse, and the "Great Confinement".