Franco-Prussian War 1870-1871: Dog and cat meat butcher in Paris, 1871. During the war Paris was under siege from September 1870 to late January 1871. Food was scarce and anything edible was considered for consumption including cats and dogs, and the zoo animals from the Jardin des Plantes. From a sketch sent out of Paris by balloon post. From The Graphic. (London, 14 January 1871). Wood engraving.