Quellen Kants zur „Luftelectricität“ und zum „Katzentod“

Abstract This article investigates a puzzling episode in Immanuel Kant’s later life: his repeated references to „air electricity“ and the mysterious mass death of cats (‚Katzentod‘) as potential causes of his chronic neurological ailments. Contrary to long-standing assumptions that interpret these remarks as symptoms of senility, this study reconstructs Kant’s statements within the context of scientific discourse on animal electricity, epidemiology, and atmospheric phenomena. Drawing on overlooked primary sources – including reviews from the Allgemeine Literatur-Zeitung and the Erlangen Litteratur-Zeitung – the article identifies Kant’s references to Scandinavian medical reports on feline epidemics likely caused by electrical imbalances in the air. Special attention is given to a hitherto unidentified text by Elof Wäström, which Kant appears to paraphrase in his late writings through two reviews. The article shows that Kant’s reflections were part of a broader attempt at scientifically informed self-diagnosis, situated within the ongoing medical and meteorological debates of the late 18th century. The so-called ‚cat plague‘ thus emerges not as an eccentric obsession, but as a meaningful indicator of Kant’s engagement with the medical theories of his time.