ITALIAN JOURNEY – PROGRAMME 2

ROME – THE CAT LADIES

Many people think Rome is a special place because of its history and its ancient monuments.

But Rome is also special because of its people, the Romans – the people who make the community interesting.

Paola Cigna is a cat lady, a woman who spends her time protecting the 180,000 stray cats in the city.

Gabriella: Paola, what made you want to look after cats? 

Paola Cigna: My family have always been animal lovers: dogs, cats, all animals.  We could never kill a mouse, a fly, or even an ant.  Never.  
Anyway, I lived near a clinic where a lot of cats were abandoned all year round.  I began taking them in, finding them homes, feeding them, and that’s how… 

Gabriella: Everything started, partly through pity.

Paola Cigna: Yes, partly pity, that’s right.  Pity… I always think about them when it’s cold, when it rains, when it’s too hot.  Basically I identify with them.  I’ve always said that I’m really a cat.

Gabriella:  What are the biggest problems in your job Paola? Because what you do is really a job.

Paola Cigna: Yes, it’s a never-ending task.  As far as I’m concerned, we never have enough time to sort out all the problems we have.  And then there’s the cost, because you need money all the time: for food, for veterinary care. 

Gabriella: You’re a cat lady.  Don’t you mind being called a cat lady?  Because it also has negative connotations.

Paola Cigna: It used to.  But you don’t say “cat lady” any more.  A “cat lady” was an old lady with a paper bag they would put on the ground near the rubbish bins.  Now a “cat lady” is someone who also takes care of treatment and neutering, and finds home for the kittens.  So I don’t think “cat lady” is really the right word for someone who looks after animals.

Gabriella: Do you do this every day?

Paola Cigna: Yes.

Gabriella: How many hours a day?

Paola Cigna: Well, I get up early and when I come home I’ve got more to do because I have a lot of cats at home too.

Gabriella: How many do you have at home?

Paola Cigna: I’ve got twenty-one.

Gabriella: Twenty-one at home!

Paola Cigna: Yes.

Gabriella: What does you husband have to say about it?

Paola Cigna: My husband doesn’t say anything about it any more.  He’s got used to it.  Look at this wound!  Poor kitty!  I wonder what is wrong with it, poor creature. Hi Silvia.

Silvia: Hi Paola. 

Paola Cigna: I really need your help.  Silvia, this is Gabriella.  I found this little cat at Celimontana, and I don’t know whether it has been run over or if it’s ill.  Can you give it an injection?  And keep it somwhere warm?  Shall I go through?

Silvia: Yes.

Paola Cigna: I’ll go though.  Thanks. 

Silvia: You’re welcome.

Gabriella: This is a cat shelter.

Silvia: Yes, it’s a shelter for homeless cats.  It is the last resort for strays or abandoned pets.

Gabriella: Did you set up this place?

Silvia: With my colleague Lea De Quel.  We started up seven years ago.

Gabriella: So people abandoned them here?

Silvia: They abandon them here during the night.  They leave them here, mainly anonymously.

Gabriella: How many cats are there in the shelter?

Silvia: About 250 at the moment.

Gabriella: Lots, then.

Silvia: Of course they’re not just here in the shelter, they also live in the ruins, where, I have to say, they lead a pretty normal life.  I must emphasise that all of the cats are neutered.

Gabriella: So the first thing is to neuter them.

Silvia: The first thing.  It’s our rule, so to speak.

Gabriella: Why is that?

Silvia:  Because in Rome there are – and not only in Rome, all over the world – there are too many strays.  The rate of reproduction is terrifying.  A female cat can have 25,000 descendants in five years.  There are 180,000 stray cats in Rome, fed by an army of cat ladies.  The cost is met by money from their pockets and purses.  Hardly any of them are wealthy.  Many are poor.

Gabriella: But if you don’t receive funding or aid from the City Council and you rely mainly on donations from volunteers, how can you manage to run such a busy place?

Silvia: Well, I am proud to say that these cats are alive thanks to the charity of people who come here.  Our visitors, both Italian and – mainly – foreign.  We also get a lot of help from the AISPA – the Anglo-Italian Society for the Protection of Animals.

Gabriella: What made you want to look after cats, and what joy, what satisfaction do you get from it?

Silvia: I fell into it by chance.  Of course you start off by taking an interest and end up being completely involved.  But I am pleased because I’ve never felt so at peace and so – I’m going to use a big word – so happy in all my life, since I learned how to forget myself and to work with something outside my own life.