By Clara Peters
ROME, April 8 — Largo di Torre Argentina, holding some of the most ancient ruins in Rome, has become the new home for hundreds of the city’s quarter-million stray cats.
The Cat Sanctuary, located in the downstairs of Largo Argentina, is a non-profit organization run by volunteers that take in all cats that need a home and good care. The sanctuary’s main goal is to lower the city’s homeless cat population by sterilizing as many cats as possible to decrease re-production.
The sanctuary was co-founded by Silvia Viviani and Lia Dequel in
1993. In 2001, the sanctuary sterilized
850 cats. In 2007, the number jumped to 3,722, according to sanctuary statistics.
Because the sanctuary cannot care for all of the city’s cats, they frequently have to let go those that have been surviving well on their own after the sterilization and vaccination process. In 2007, 1,598 cats came to Largo Argentina, and 1,389 left healthy and sterilized.
“Our main goal here is to decrease the number of homeless cats in the city by sterilizing as many cats as possible as to slow down reproduction,” says Amanda Bush, a Cat Sanctuary volunteer.
All of the cats, upon arrival,
are sterilized, vaccinated, and held in quarantine. Because of the large
number of homeless cats in Rome, it is important to sterilize them so
that the population does not continue to expand. They are then kept
indoors in a room with other cats for a month while they adjust to the
surroundings.
After this trial period they are given the chance to come out and explore other rooms, as well as the ruins themselves. The cats that are seen roaming around the ruins have chosen to be there, and those found indoors have likewise made the decision to be indoors. You will never find an outdoor cat indoors or vise versa, sanctuary officials say.
The Cat Sanctuary offers free street-level tours of the ruins at 4 p.m. every day, except Sunday. The tour gives detailed explanations of each of the four ancient temples as well as pointing out specifically where Julius Caesar was brutally murdered by his colleagues and friends.
The sanctuary has a gift shop. All profits go to help the cats and donations are much appreciated. Because this is a non-profit organization, the more help the cats can get from visitors, the better. Although adoption rates of the cats have increased, an estimate of only about one-third of the cats are taken in by families, and the need for homes is still very high.
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