Ciao, Miaou ... Claudio's Story ... The Cats of Rome

Logo & Links: See Page Bottom - Traveling With Ed and Julie - Rome, Italy, Cats, Sights, Websites

Image Map - Use Links in Text

Ciao, Miaou
Claudio's Story
as told to Kathleen Dadey

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 sanctuary. 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 lover’s trip to Rome should be complete without a visit!

The sanctuary is staffed by an international group of volunteers, some who take out time from their “Roman Holiday” (I love that movie; what about you?) to care for us. Many of the volunteers speak English and are more than happy to show you through the sanctuary and introduce you to us cats. Even if you don’t adopt one of us, I can vouchsafe that all (well, almost all; chances are, you won’t even see the cranky ones) are all marvelous felines, well worth your time, interest and some petting!

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.

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!

The Torre Argentina web site (developed by Dutch friends of the sanctuary) can be found at
www.romancats.com

Contributions can be sent to:
Ms. Silvia Viviani
Via Marco Papio 15
00175 Rome, Italy

Americans can send tax-deductible donations to:
Best Friends Animal Sanctuary
Kanab, UT 84741

or to
In Defense of Animals
131 Camino Alto
Mill Valley, CA 94941

We really appreciate all donations, large and small, and the volunteers will be happy to send you our semi-annual newsletter (let us know your email address). But please, don’t be concerned if they take a little time getting back to you: we cats keep them more than busy!

…as told to Kathy Dadey (kdadey@altavista.com), with help from Susan Wheeler, Cheryl Sande and Deborah D’Allesandro.

Questions or comments for the author?
kdadey@altavista.com

Kathy is a peripatetic federal bureaucrat who has travelled extensively in the North Atlantic (including a month above the Arctic Circle) and Pacific Oceans on oceanographic research vessels. She looks forward to many trips to Italy. You'll find an engaging article about her first visit to Rome in Aloha Rome.

Would you like to add an article about your travel experiences in Europe? It's easy to do.

Top of Page

Our Favorites
Rome | Switzerland | Bavaria | Ouray, CO

Traveling
The Not-For-Profit Site For Your Travel Plans
Use of this site constitutes your acceptance of these
Conditions Of Use

Ciao, Miaou Claudio's Story as told to Kathleen Dadey

Ciao, Miaou
Claudio's Story
as told to Kathleen Dadey