Support the Italian Kitties!
Hi all!
Today my blog post is about some really nice Italian kitties in need of help & support.
The Torre Argentina Roman Cat Sanctuary is a cat sanctuary in central Rome which is very famous, attracts a lot of tourists who come to see the cats leaping about the Roman ruins and which is painstakingly run, seven days a week/365 days a year, by a band of dedicated volunteers. Funds are solicited from tourists and, as their website honestly declares, if it's raining, no funds, so you can imagine the crimp that a few rainy days might put into this organization's wonderful efforts. The website tells you, too, all about this wonderful place, its beginnings & history & its needs for the cats that call it "home".
The shelter is home to approximately 250 cats! In 1929, the sacred area of Torre Argentina was excavated and this marks the first year that the history of the cats' residency in this ancient location began. Stray and abandoned felines began to take refuge in the protected area below street level.
In addition to feeding the cats, the volunteers provide medical help (spaying, neutering, cleaning cages, etc) with NO running water (no bathrooms, no hot water) and with light provided by "a big gas lantern on a table". Here is a picture from their website site of some of these wonderful people (I hope they won't mind me swiping it to show to you all):
Last week, on NPR (National Public Radio), MomKatt heard a story about this wonderful cat sanctuary, which faces the threat of being shut down by national archeological officials, who claim "it's illegal" - but saying in the same breath that the cats can stay.
Here is the link to the NPR broadcast (which also provides information about how this cat sanctuary got started in the first place - by an opera singer!)
Cat Fight In Rome
Now, if the shelter closes, WHO is going to do the work these wonderful volunteers are doing? Who will care for them, feed them, get them the medical help that they might need?
There is a petition, MomKatt found, online that you can sign and here is the link for it:
Feel free to put this on YOUR blogs, on your Facebook pages, and if you find any more sites that I don't have listed here, please send them to me so we can put our two cents' worth in there also. There is a PayPal link on one of the shelter's pages where you can go to contribute! (Click on the word "PayPal" in that previous sentence, and there is a PayPal logo on the left of the screen that you will see when you do that.)
They simply CANNOT shut down this shelter!
So let's get busy! I know I can count on all my blogging friends to help support this wonderful place! Thank you all!
The pictures below are of some of the shelter's lucky residents!
PURRS!
Selina
Today my blog post is about some really nice Italian kitties in need of help & support.
The Torre Argentina Roman Cat Sanctuary is a cat sanctuary in central Rome which is very famous, attracts a lot of tourists who come to see the cats leaping about the Roman ruins and which is painstakingly run, seven days a week/365 days a year, by a band of dedicated volunteers. Funds are solicited from tourists and, as their website honestly declares, if it's raining, no funds, so you can imagine the crimp that a few rainy days might put into this organization's wonderful efforts. The website tells you, too, all about this wonderful place, its beginnings & history & its needs for the cats that call it "home".
The shelter is home to approximately 250 cats! In 1929, the sacred area of Torre Argentina was excavated and this marks the first year that the history of the cats' residency in this ancient location began. Stray and abandoned felines began to take refuge in the protected area below street level.
In addition to feeding the cats, the volunteers provide medical help (spaying, neutering, cleaning cages, etc) with NO running water (no bathrooms, no hot water) and with light provided by "a big gas lantern on a table". Here is a picture from their website site of some of these wonderful people (I hope they won't mind me swiping it to show to you all):
Last week, on NPR (National Public Radio), MomKatt heard a story about this wonderful cat sanctuary, which faces the threat of being shut down by national archeological officials, who claim "it's illegal" - but saying in the same breath that the cats can stay.
Here is the link to the NPR broadcast (which also provides information about how this cat sanctuary got started in the first place - by an opera singer!)
Cat Fight In Rome
Now, if the shelter closes, WHO is going to do the work these wonderful volunteers are doing? Who will care for them, feed them, get them the medical help that they might need?
There is a petition, MomKatt found, online that you can sign and here is the link for it:
Fedora Filippi and the Italian Culture Ministry: Stop trying to evict the Torre Argentina Cat Sanctuary
Please take the time to go and sign the petition, and also to investigate the sanctuary's website and listen to the NPR story. I feel these cats & devoted, selfless hoomans/peeps need our support. This story moved MomKatt & me very deeply and we wanted to spread the word.Feel free to put this on YOUR blogs, on your Facebook pages, and if you find any more sites that I don't have listed here, please send them to me so we can put our two cents' worth in there also. There is a PayPal link on one of the shelter's pages where you can go to contribute! (Click on the word "PayPal" in that previous sentence, and there is a PayPal logo on the left of the screen that you will see when you do that.)
They simply CANNOT shut down this shelter!
So let's get busy! I know I can count on all my blogging friends to help support this wonderful place! Thank you all!
The pictures below are of some of the shelter's lucky residents!
PURRS!
Selina
I heard about this too, and I hope the sanctuary does not get messed with!
ReplyDeleteWe have signed the petition and sent the letter. The link to the petition is here:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ipetitions.com/petition/save-the-cats
.and the link to the letter which will be emailed to those in authority is here:-
http://www.catsdb.com/cgi-bin/appealwrite.cgi
Selina thank you for highlighting this issue. Our ape has been to Torre Argentina Sanctuary and remembers the wonderful cats with great fondness. We hope lots of people step up to help the sanctuary survive!
Gerry & Mungo
Gerry & Mungo:
DeleteTHANK YOU for those two links! I hope everyone sees them - I will repost them on Thurs. to make sure in my blog entry for that day!
PURRS!
Selina
PS - How lucky your "ape" (MOL) is to have actually BEEN there! MomKatt is deeply envious.