These historical photos show street vendors in Victorian London, known as Cat’s Meat Men. They would sell scraps of meat to pet owners, who would then feed it to their cats and dogs.
In the photos, we see the vendors with very eager dogs and cats standing by, ready for their meals.
Often sold to working class households, pet owners would buy small amounts of scrap meat, which was sometimes soaked in blood to make it appear fresher than it might have been.
It’s been said that in 1850, there were more than a thousand of these vendors, feeding more than 300,000 cats and dogs. It’s a fascinating snapshot of history.
Photography by Francis James Mortimer and others, part of the public domain.
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