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Win a week in a beautiful Tuscan Villa! The deadline to send in for raffle tickets is June 30th.   Our wonderful artist donor Siglinda Scarpa has offered one of her beautiful villas again. Click here to see photos and read about it. The address to mail donations for raffle tickets is: FORC. P.O Box, 12571, San Francisco, CA 94112. Suggested donation per ticket is $10.

In May another 30 spay/neuter traps were sent to Italy and have been put to use helping ferals across the country!

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Our Blessings Party and auction in March was another one of our greatest fundraising successes. We are grateful to Michael for his catering, our lovely classical trio, the wonderful donations from artists, vintners and local businesses, and our hard working volunteers for all making it such a special evening. If you saw an item you would like to purchase or an artist you want to contact, please let us know.

  The 2008 Friends Of Roman Cats
Cats and Culture Tour has been cancelled.

Unfortunately the exchange rate has made impossible for us to have a tour this year. We are looking to the future though and hope to have an even better tour in 2009. We are also looking to have another small event in the Bay Area in October so stay tuned!                                

The Cats & Culture Tour visited some remarkable shelters and organizations in Italy.  Click here for some history and contact info for these caring groups and individuals. Below are some great photos from the 2006 tour. If you would like to donate to any of these wonderful cat groups in Italy please use the mailing address on our "contact us" page and indicate which shelter you would like to support. We may also be purchasing supplies like flea medicine and sending them over in lieu of US currency.

(click here for larger view)


Counting Our Blessings: Stories From Friends
Do you have a story you would like to share with us?

In Memoriam: Ralph Syracuse Campbell

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We at Friends of Roman Cats wish to remember Phil Frank, inimitable cartoonist and wit.  We have delighted in his Farley cartoons for many years. When he named one of his cat characters after one from the Golden Gate Park feral cat colony "Il Gatto di Tutti Gatti" (the head, or capo of all the cats), we were overjoyed. When we asked if he would donate a cartoon strip to our Blessings yearly fundraiser, he graciously did.  We will all miss his humor, his obvious love of animals and his ability to wonderfully depict so many of the foibles of daily life in the Bay Area.

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Notes From
The Friends Of Roman Cats|2006 Cats and Culture Tour

Out of a trip come many stories. Here are a few of the stories from Friends of Roman Cats’ Cats and Culture tour of Italy in 2006.

People participated in this special cat tour for all sorts of reasons; most everyone who came is a cat lover, some work with cats and some write about them and study them. Everyone who came loves Italy, Italian food, wines and of course the ice cream. Tour attendees were intrigued to see the country from the perspective of how Italy’s stray and abandoned cats are treated and wanted to know more about Italy’s no-kill law.... Complete report (with pictures!) ...

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Here's Susan's report from the the 2004 Cats & Culture Tour
as well as Denver Post article from April 2005 about the Tour.

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All of Us at Friends of Roman Cats Raise glasses filled with virtual Bellinis in celebration of the upcoming marriage of Cheryl Abbott and Robert Turnage In Las Vegas on Sept 22d, 2007. Cheryl considered on coming on our Cats and Culture tour, held this coming October. She is obviously a great lover of Italy and cats.  We wish her and her husband-to-be Robert, Buona Fortuna, Un Buon Matrimonio! May they find themselves at the real Bellagio in 2008. If you would care to make a donation to FORC in honor of the the happy couple, it can be sent to:  FORC. P.O Box, 12571, San Francisco, CA 94112.

Study Results: Management of feral domestic cats
in the urban environment of Rome (Italy)

Here is a study showing that Trap-Neuter-Return Study Results is making inroads on the size of the feral cat population in Rome and its vicinity. We thank the authors for their work even though we think their conclusion is not strong enough in recognizing that after only 3 years the feral cat population has started to decrease, what about after 6 years or ten years. A difference is being made, thanks to the hard work of the people at Torre Argentina, Piramide and other managed colonies in Rome, Dorothea Friz and her spay-mobile and the Public Health vets. We at FORC are also participating in this effort both with money and our humane traps.

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Have your animal friends immortalized in a beautiful portrait
by an animal loving Italian artist

Rosamund Clarke is a very special supporter of Friends of Roman Cats. Those of you who have bought our Christmas cards, come to one of our events or read our “Cats and Culture” brochures have enjoyed Rosamund’s lovely and whimsical cat artwork. She has recently started making personal animal portraits in her studio in Rome. You can send her a picture of your companion animal and she will create a very special portrait of your special friend. This is a sample of one of her portraits [click on picture to enlarge].

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Two lucky people in 2007 spent a week in an Italian Villa!

Two of our supporters spent a week in Tuscany in November thanks to Siglinda Scarpa’s generous donation of the use of her house there! Thank you, Siglinda!  Siglinda is a talented artist and potter who generously supports animal welfare groups.  If you would like to rent one of Siglinda’s houses, check out her website at  http://www.siglindascarpa.com.

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Dr. Friz and Her Valiant Spay/Neuter Campaign

Dr. Dorothea Friz is a German veterinarian working tirelessly to help control the dog and cat population. She is trying to jump start spaying and neutering in Southern Italy in spite of the many obstacles that are put in front of her. Hooray for Dr. Friz!  Here is her latest report.

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As we hear about them, we will highlight worldwide
legislative efforts to give animals new rights.

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Honor That Special Someone

FORC has a short-term goal of purchasing and delivering high-quality humane cat traps to Italian sancturaries (to date, we have donated close to 100!). Anyone donating $75 or more can have their name, or the name of a special companion animal, affixed to the trap. To read more about the trap appeal and a list of 43 named traps, click here. 

 

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St. Francis Fund

Click here for informational sheet and application ... more details to follow.

We would love to hear about your own animal blessings and will post as many
of them as we can.  Here are some we'd like to share with you.

Barbara   Cheryl   Geoff   Leslie   Linda   Lynn   Mary   Muriel

(larger view) Veteriarian Dorothea Friz

(larger view) Dorothea and Emilio

This technically isn't an alert, but we wanted to tell you about it anyway:

FORC is excited to announce that we now have 52 (!) humane cat traps in Italy.  They are all being used to trap cats for spaying and neutering.  They are very popular and are in constant use. Many more are needed, so if you would like to help with this wonderful program, please check the Trap Appeal information.

We now have notecards for sale, all proceeds go to benefit the work of FORC.  The cards measure 5" x 7" and come with envelopes in packages of 10.  The cost is $15 plus $1.28 sales tax and shipping is included.

Original water color by Rosamund Clarke	From artist Murial Escop's original etching "Love Song to Galeno"	From Murial Escop's original etching "The Winter Coat"

If you're interested in purchasing one or more of the above sets of cards, please send a check  for $16.28 ($15 + $1.28 sales tax) to 

Friends of Roman Cats
P.O. Box 12571 
San Francisco CA 94112

Check out our CATalog for cards and artwork.  If you have any questions, please write us at the above address or e-mail Susan Wheeler at rappwheel@aol.com or Mary Kennedy at marezie@appleisp.net.

Posted: 4/5/03

FORC has a short-term goal of purchasing and delivering high quality humane cat traps to Rome this year. Anyone donating $75 or more can have their name, or the name of a special companion animal, affixed to the trap. Print out this form to learn more.  [As of November 2004, the number delivered is close to 100! With your help we can send even more.]

About Us

We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2001.  Friends of Roman Cats (FORC) is dedicated to helping homeless and abandoned cats both in Italy and the United States. We believe there is a good fit between the 1991 law in Italy giving homeless cats the right to life, and the practical, hand-on solutions for which the American feral cat community is noted.

One of the inspirations for Friends of Roman Cats is the very forward-looking Italian law dealing with companion animals.  It says that healthy stray cats and dogs cannot be put to death.  Cats are to be left alone, to live their lives in whatever habitat they have chosen. The municipal veterinary authorities are responsible for spaying or neutering them. 

FORC wishes highlight this law, and to thank a wonderful Italian-American supporter, Piera Bignetti, for translating it into English.  The Italian law starts with its General Principles:

Ever wonder who St. Anthony Abbot is? Well, take a look.

Torre Argentina Volunteers

Silvia Viviani, co-founder of Torre Argentina, with a new friend

EVERY CAT whether owned or not should have the right to life and whatever care we can help it to find. We wish to help change the common view here that the life of a feral cat is not worth living.  We are particularly inspired by one cat sanctuary in Rome known as Torre Argentina. Torre Argentina not only cares for a large colony of homeless cats, it is trying to create a safety net for all of Roman cats.

You've seen me -- or one just like me. We grace postcards, calendars and various pieces of thousand-year old statuary throughout Rome. My name is Claudio. I am a young, one-eyed cat that was found by a volunteer of the Torre Argentina cat sanctuary in a paper sack dropped off on the sidewalk near the sanctuary. 

I am one of the lucky ones. After receiving vet care (yuck! but a necessary evil, I suppose) and a thorough cleaning (more yuck),  I was given my own space in the sanctuary and as much clean water, food and litter that I could go through! All the volunteers were so nice to me, and sometimes, people visiting Rome would stop at the sanctuary and spend a little time. That is especially important for us. We need personal contact with people. We really appreciate people stopping down (as the sanctuary is down, below street level), and petting us, cuddling us and making us  feel loved (abandoned cats really need that -- imagine being put in a sack by someone you trusted, then dropped off on the street -- but that's my story; others are even worse). 

I am one of the lucky ones. One of those visitors decided to take me home! I didn't really care for the plane ride, but now, I am "writing" this from a cozy blanket in a warm apartment in California. My "mom" tells all her friends what a gratifying experience (those are BIG words for a cat!) it was adopting me; how I have fit into her household so well, and that even if I don't understand English, the word "no" is the same in both languages (I'm not quite sure why THAT came up in any conversation). 

But let me tell you about the ones that aren't as lucky as I am. 

Cats and Rome's ruins go back many years.  Thousands of Rome's abandoned cats and kittens have fled to the city's numerous ruins over the years. In fact, the city has decreed that the cats may stay at the ruins. Which is good. However, the city contributes nothing to our care and we rely on the kind graces of volunteers and visitors to our beautiful city. 

I was lucky to be found (in that paper sack) and brought to the Torre Argentina cat. As I understand it, the sanctuary was founded in 1994 by former opera singer Silvia Viviani and retired career woman Lia Dequel to care for the cats in the Area Sacri di Largo Argentina. The Area, filled with Republican-era temples, is named after the medieval tower (torre) beside it and is home to more than 300 abandoned cats like me. 

Torre Argentina is located at the busy intersection of Via Arenula and Corso Vittorio Emanuele, but many visitors never even notice us, despite the fact that volunteers post signs welcoming tourists. Those who do venture into the sanctuary are rewarded by a lively group of us felines purring welcome - and our volunteer caretakers. No cat lovers trip to Rome should be complete without a visit!

Yes, the Torre Argentina cats fare far better than many abandoned Roman cats, but even here, the average life span is significantly shorter than that of a pet cat. The sanctuary seems to be constantly battling poor living conditions  (for  us cats), government bureaucracy, and a chronic lack of funding. 

Yes, the Torre Argentina cats fare far better than many abandoned Roman cats, but even here, the average life span is significantly shorter that that of a pet cat.  The sanctuary seems to be constantly battling poor living conditions (for us cats), government bureaucracy, and a chronic lack of funding.

As Nelson, our "spokes-cat" says, Please Help! And please come visit. Like many others, it could be the highlight of your trip to Rome!