by Monica Conrady

ld San Juan, PR—If you’re ever in Puerto Rico’s charming walled city, Old San Juan, head for the San Juan Gate and take a stroll along the Paseo de El Morro. You’ll be on a path that winds its way along the rocky shore, beside the ancient city wall. You’ll soon notice a lot of furry faces popping up among the rocks. If you’re a cat lover like me, you’ll be delighted.

The story goes that there was a major problem with the growing feral cat colony on the Paseo. Talk of them being captured and put down had the cat lovers of Puerto Rico up in arms. Enter the not for profit organization — Save A Gato. They met with the National Park Service and offered them the T/N/R (Trap/Neuter/Return) method as an alternative. The result: a lot of happy cats, still in their original habitat, getting fed a high-quality dry food meal once a day, and doted upon by residents and tourists alike.

ey West, FL—Sooner or later, most visitors to Key West find their way to the Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum on Whitehead Street. Hemingway and his second wife, Pauline, lived in this gracious, 1851 Spanish Colonial House from 1931 to 1940, although he owned it until his death 30 years later. They weren’t the only inhabitants. The story goes that a sea captain gave Ernest Hemingway a six-toed cat — and that cat went out and multiplied. Today, Hemingway’s house is home to approximately 60 cats, many of them descendants of that six-toed cat. All shapes, sizes, colors and personalities, they have the run of the house and garden. Many have six toes and all have famous names, such as Sophia Loren, Spencer Tracy, Emily Dickinson, and Simone de Beauvoir. There’s nothing feral about this lot.

ome, Italy—You’ll soon spot Rome’s cats, prowling the ancient monuments as if they owned them. Rome is perhaps the city with the largest feral cat population in the world; its population has been estimated to be between 250,000 and 350,000, living in colonies among such famous ruins as the Colosseum.

Romans’ affection for their stray felines runs strong. Many of the cats are fed in lean times by the Gattare, or “Cat Women.” Others are taken care of through a Cat Sanctuary in the Torre Argentina, the very place Caesar was murdered in 44 B.C. Torre Argentina is “cat central” in Rome — its volunteers not only take care of over 300 cats at any one time, but also help cat caretakers all over city.

I don’t own a cat myself, as in San Francisco there are plenty of friendly cats in the neighborhood that like to visit regularly.

www.saveagato.com
www.hemingwayhome.com
www.romancats.com

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