Happy Caturday! (5.27.2023)

First thimgs first: Happy Birthday to Me!! Yep, I turmed four last Momday. Got lots of extra goodies amd spemt the aftermoom hamgimg im the Jumgle with HER. It was a womderful day.

I’m just happy SHE didm’t make me wear a silly hat. MOL

PLEASE SHARE

If you or amyome you kmow is havimg trouble makimg emds meet, they may also be havimg trouble affordimg dog food amd cat food. Imstead of givimg up a beloved pet(s), there are resources available that offer help – imcludimg free pet food!

Where to Find Free Pet Food

Ask your local shelter if they have a pet food bank.
Some animal shelters maintain a pet food bank. When a distraught companion animal guardian visits the shelter with the intent to surrender their animal, instead of signing a surrender form they are given an application for food subsistence.

Meals on Wheels found that pets are the only family that some seniors have and that some of their clients were sharing their meals with their pets when they couldn’t afford pet food. In 2006, Meals on Wheels started the We All Love Our Pets (WALOP) initiative. Not all local Meals on Wheels programs offer pet food, so check with your local program. www.mealsonwheelsamerica.org

The Humane Society of the United States maintains a list of national and local organizations that offer free pet food, low-cost spay/neuter services, and temporary foster care if you need help: www.humanesociety.org/resources/are-you-having-trouble-affording-your-pet

Feeding Pets of the Homeless offers resources for finding both food and veterinary care. You can use their website to search for help in your area: petsofthehomeless.org/get-help/find-locations/

Use search engines to research “pet food banks” and “meals on wheels programs in (your city)”. You may be surprised at all the good things that are happening in your own community.

Talk to your grocer about saving dented and newly out-of-date pet food items and donating them to a shelter where you may be able to avail yourself of same.

Use social media to let everyone you know you are taking up a collection to build a food bank and ask for donated food items once intended for a now-deceased animal.

Consider making an online wishlist with pet food and other pet essentials and sharing it with friends, family, or on social media. Amazon.com and WishList.com have tools that let you make a public list: www.wishlist.com

Finally, please consider donating pet food items to your local shelters (both animal and human) and food banks/pantries.

The Animal Connecti in SF states on its website: “PLEASE NOTE: WE ARE VERY LOW ON DONATIONS AND YOU MAY HAVE TO WAIT A FEW DAYS OR WEEKS BEFORE WE CAN MAKE AN APPOINTMENT FOR YOUR TO PICKUP FREE FOOD. We have so many requests and have to limit volunteers in order to social distance and rely heavily on donations. We appreciate your patience. PLEASE CALL OR EMAIL US IF YOU ARE IN NEED OF FREE PET FOOD!”

FullBellyBus (SF, CA) has mobile pet food pantries which deliver pet food to the homeless shelters in SF that allow people to bring their pets: fullbellybus.org/mobile-pet-food-pantries

Pet Pantries Are on the Rise—Here’s How to Support One Near You – There’s a link where one can find a pantry near them.

May is National Pet Month
(EVERY momth should be Matiomal Pet Momth. – R)

Dogs prepare you for babies.
Cats prepare you for teenagers.
– Alan Hunter

This Cat Sanctuary in Old Roman Ruins Is a Must-Visit

A walk through the historic centre of Rome will no doubt take you pass Largo di Torre Argentina, a large, excavated square located just a couple of blocks from the Pantheon. A closer look with reveal not only a fascinating collection of ancient temples, but a cat colony lurking amongst the ruins.

The ancients ruins of Largo Argentina were first discovered in 1927 when, after the Italian unification, Mussolini began to reconstruct and rebuild vast sections of the city. At the time known as Torre Argentina, the square was named after the Latin word for Strasbourg, Argentoratum, due to the historic residence of Papal Master of Ceremonies Johannes Burckardt who hailed from Strasbourg and built a palace here in 1503. During the demolition of the area, workers came across the remains of a colossal ancient marble statue and subsequent excavation led to the discovery of four Republican-era pagan temples, dating back to between the 4th and 2nd centuries BC, as well as a section of the Theatre of Pompey, the site of the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 BC. Indeed, there is an annual re-enactment of the murder of Caesar at the exact spot every year on the Ides of March (15th March) to honour the anniversary of his death.

Once the area was completely cleared at the end of the 1920s, it gradually became home to some of Rome’s vast population of feral cats who historically sought shelter among the city’s ancient ruins and crumbling remains. For many decades the stray cats of Rome, including the ones at Torre Argentina, were cared for by ‘gattare’ (cat ladies) who would feed and care for them on an irregular basis. In 1994, volunteers took over and began spaying or neutering as many cats as possible to control the population, setting up the Torre Argentina Cat Sanctuary.

Nowadays, there are an estimated 150 cats residing at Torre Argentina and the dedicated volunteers also feed, provide care for and vaccinate the cat population all across the city with the main base still found among the ruins. The sanctuary is open to visitors daily from noon until 6pm when cat-lovers can meet the furry residents and browse the souvenirs at own Cat Shop. The sanctuary also arranges adoptions, either by finding the animals loving homes or setting up distance adoptions to build a steady supply of much-needed donations.

Despite the controversial move by archaeological authorities in recent years to call for the closure of the cat sanctuary, citing the effect the large animal population has on the dignity and conservation of the ancient holy sites, petitions in favour of the sanctuary gained over 30,000 signatures, providing enough awareness to save the sanctuary. However, although a compromise appears to have now been reached, the sanctuary still lives with the threat of eviction and depends more than ever on the support and donations of its visitors to ensure the historic cats of Rome can keep their home.

Torre Argentina Cat Sanctuary website