shotgun!
It is going to be not only historical but Biblical.
What is cat is short for Catatonic people. Haitians are known for drugging people and burying them, then digging them up to enslave people with their witchcraft Voodoo.
catatonic
of or pertaining to catatonia; suffering from catatonia.
(colloq.) appearing mentally stupefied, unresponsive, and motionless, or almost so; seemingly unaware of one's environment.