The Neihart herald. [volume] (Neihart, Mont.) 1890-1901, 1897-12-04
THE CATS OF THE sIENA.


City.
Strangers in Siena often speak OF the
great quantities of pet cats e there.
At each doorway opening directly ON
the street sits a pet cat, staid and re-
spectacle, with a ribbon or some piece
of color tied abou her neck to snow
that she belongs to a human FAMILY.
Workmen in their little shops nave a
cat to keep them company, sometimes
sitting on a low counter at the w1noo"
All are in reach of any teasing manu.
but | never saw a cat chased or teaseo
in any way, and it is plain that tney
felt perfectly secure and did not expect
any injury. Personally, l found them
unsociable, and that when / spoke to
them they took no notice and made
no reply, even when l learned an ltal-
ian word or two to say to them. lney
were happy at home, and did not need
to make new friends. In Naples there
are men whose business 1t is to feed
cats every day at Dol People with
economical tables subscribe a small
sum to have their cats provided for by
the cats food men. The cats beg1n TO
feel quite hungry about noon, and stroll
out from the shops in all those crowd
ed streets to watch for dinner. l could
not imagine what was the excitement
among them that first day l was out
at that hour. Presently l saw a part
OF the daily distribution on bustling
Chiaja. There were cats there who
seemed to watch what was dealt out
to them critically, as if they intended
TO make a complaint if their dinner
was not as good as it ought to be. In
Florence the cats enjoy the freedom
they love; and never did | see n
chased, or looking timid and anxious
as II uncertain where to run to. I
remember a cat used to pass near the
old Medici Church of San Spirito. She
seemed to live on one of the upper
floors of a tall house, and she could
only look up to her window by sitting
in the middle of the street. She would
never answer my greeting, but con-
tinued to look up as if watching her
friends or perhaps signaling to them
that she was ready to go home. There
Is a special cat hurch in Florence, San
Lorenzo, the church in which so man
Medici are buried. | don't know wheth-
er that family was particularly fond of
cats or o it happened, but the clois-
tiers of San Lorenzo are reserved for
homeless cats, whether they come
there by themselves or are brought by
people who want to dispose of them
had read in my guide book that these
animals are fed every day at noon
from scraps brought in by people in
the neighborhood, so | was particular
to time my visit at noon, and was dis
appointed to hear that for some reason
the breakfast hour had been changed
to 8 a. m. There is a large, raised
green center in the cloisters, on which
grow some shrubs and trees; and,
asleep under the bushes or lettering
around the stone ledge that inclosed
the green were a dozen or two of the
charity cats. Legend says they are
witches, who have consented to take
this harmless shape, and to keep out
Of mischief. They were rather a dilap-
id~ated-looking lot, but still interesting,
because all cats have a great deal of in
~dividuality, and, when possible, of in
dependence also. | cannot envy the
horses and dogs of Italy, and certainly
not the birds; but If had to be
changed into an animal, l might choose
to be an Italian cat.