Susan has tails to tell about the First Annual Cats and Culture Tour!

In early October 2004, I met 14 jet-lagged but eager American cat lovers who had flown into the Milan airport from all parts of the United States.  We came together for the first Friends of Roman Cats “Cats and Culture Tour” to explore some of the most interesting Italian cat sanctuaries and to learn how people in another country deal with the challenge of stray and homeless cats.  I was their guide for two weeks as we met wonderful cats and the dedicated Italians who care for them and saw Italian historical and artistic sites.

We left the airport and in no time arrived in a resort town on the shores of Lake Maggiore.  During our first full day, we explored several small islands in the lake, one where cats eagerly greeted us; another with a magical palace and gardens filled with fantastic sculptures and white peacock.


On the third morning, we climbed into our bus and took off for Cremona, a city famous for violins.  After visiting a museum containing some of the world’s greatest violins, we made our way to an ancient abandoned monastery, now the home of over 200 abandoned cats.  Rooms that were once monks’ cells now hold rambunctious kittens and sleek, well-fed cats.  We marveled at the dedication of the small group of volunteers who, with only a little help from the city, created a marvelously well-run refuge.  As in all the sanctuaries we visited, the cats have been spayed or neutered and vaccinated.  Very reluctantly we left, going on to Padua where we spent the night.


We spent the next day exploring this famous city with its ancient university, churches and Giotto’s glorious frescoes in the Scrovegni Chapel.  Most welcome by late afternoon, we visited a large elegant 19th century coffeehouse, the Café Pedrocchi.  The next morning, it was only a short drive to Venice. 

Here, we got out of our bus and climbed into a swaying water taxi, first to our hotel and then to the main island to meet a cat colony that lives in Venice’s main hospital.  The secretary of Dingo, the organization that has helped Venice’s homeless cats and dogs since the late 1960’s, showed us around.  Some of us continued with a guided tour of St Mark’s cathedral and the Doges’ Palace, while others gave themselves over to the temptations of shopping for Venetian glass and fantastic cat masks.

The following morning, we visited the Dingo sanctuary at Malamocco on the Lido.  It was built on land donated by the city but is staffed and run by dedicated Dingo staff and volunteers.  Cats live there in small groups and have both indoor and outdoor space.  The large but gentle Venetian cats enchanted everyone.

[Click on pictures for larger view and description]

Our next stop was Florence where we visited the ancient Tuscan church of San Miniato high on a hill that overlooks the city.  We met the cat colony that lives in the cemetery behind the church, then went back to the city to the magnificent Boboli Gardens to visit the large cat colony that lives there.  Ducking rain, we followed the dedicated woman who feeds the Boboli cats every day.  We spent the rest of our time in Florence at the Ufizzi, the Cathedral and in some of Italy’s most enticing shops.

 On the 10th day of our trip, we again boarded our bus and went out into the beautiful Tuscan countryside.  We stopped to visit a cat sanctuary that is located amid olive groves on property donated by an Italo-English Countess.  Like all the sanctuaries we visited, this one spoke eloquently of the hard, endless work of a small group of volunteers who have taken it upon themselves to try to make life better for abandoned cats.  We then went on to Arezzo, a handsome medieval town, where we had a city tour. 


The next morning an Arezzo veterinarian, Dr. Malcolm Holliday, spoke to us, giving us a brief history of the animal welfare movement in Italy.  We were scheduled to see the model cat sanctuary that Dr. Holliday is building outside Arezzo.  However, because of rain during the night, we decided to wait until next year to see the completely finished sanctuary.  We arrived in Orvieto by mid afternoon and toured the ancient city perched high on a butte that dates back to Etruscan times.

We got up very early the next morning and drove into Rome for a tour of the Vatican Museum.  After marveling at the restored Sistine Chapel, most of the group went off to our hotel.  I and two other tour members went to the Rome train station to meet a man from the sanctuary outside of Florence who was bringing a special little cat to Rome.  She had so impressed two sisters on the tour they decided to adopt her and take her back to San Francisco (See Mugolina's story).

The next day we all headed out for a walking tour of Rome’s historic center.  It ended at the Torre Argentina Cat Sanctuary situated in the midst of the remains of four ancient Roman temples.  Torre Argentina is “cat central” in Rome, in that its volunteers not only care for over 300 cats at any one time, but also help cat caretakers all over Rome to feed and sterilize their charges.  Everyone bought things from their cat shop and visited the cats, including Mugolina, who was there getting her medical check-up.

For our final day, we visited the Coliseum, the Roman Forum and finally the Pyramid of Gaius Celsius, located next to the Protestant Cemetery.  Another cat colony lives here, patrolling the cemetery and have earned the title of “Guardians of the Dead”  We were disappointed that we couldn’t stay longer.  We had a lovely last dinner at a Roman trattoria and then back to bed, for a very early wakeup for the flight to America. 

We all came away from the trip inspired by the dedication of the cat caretakers we had visited and motivated to return t o helping the stray cats in the U.S.

A few words about Italy’s involvement with cats: Cats go way back in history on the Italian peninsula at least to the 9th century B.C.  Throughout history, they have been appreciated as companions and for their ability to keep down rodent populations.  As many of you know, in 1991 Italy passed a groundbreaking law saying that healthy stray cats cannot be killed.  The Friends of Roman Cats organization was formed in large part to support the spaying and neutering of Italian street cats.

Thanks to the tour participants, whose generous contributions have helped the lives of the cats in the Sanctuaries we visited.  We made donations to each sanctuary we visited and requested the money go to the spay-neuter effort.

Thanks to those who helped publicize and support the tour:

Due to a great deal of interest, we will be repeating this tour in October of 2005.  If you would like to join us, please get in touch with us by writing to our mailing address:

Friends of Roman Cats
PO Box 12571,
San Francisco, CA 94112

Posted 1/15/05