We've read a lot about the similarities and differences between the coronavirus epidemic and the Spanish flu epidemic 100 years ago. Then, as now, public figures argued over the benefits of isolation, the use of face masks, and other issues. Many people did wear masks, and even had their pictures made in them. The five women in this photo wore masks, and included their cats Tommy and Golly, also wearing masks.
The photo is part of the collection of Dan Eskenazi, the curator of Seattle’s Giant Shoe Museum. Eskenazi’s friend Pat Dorpat, a columnist and historian, found that four of the five women lived together in a still-standing house on 43rd Street in the Wallingford neighborhood of Seattle. One can imagine the ladies—bored roommates during a seemingly endless epidemic—trooping outside in their glorious hats, then slipping the inglorious masks over Tommy and Golly’s heads. The photographer who snapped their photo captured a moment of levity in the middle of a scourge.
From what we know of cats, you can imagine that the project had to be done in a hurry. While photos of cats wearing face masks are rare, this isn't the only one from that era. And there was serious speculation about whether household pets could spread the flu virus. Read about cats and dogs and how they fared during the Spanish flu epidemic at Atlas Obscura.
It's really not the name that hurts people's feelings, it's being attacked over it that hurts feelings.