The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1897-02-15
Or five comic weekly papers.-Chicago
'ribuOa
THE CATS OF SIENA.
A Paradise of Felines Is This Old Ital-
ian City,

a Paradise of Felines IL This Old Ital-
ian City.
Strangers in Siena often speak of the
great quantity of pet cats to be seen
there, At each doorway opening di.
rectly on the street sits pet cat, staid
and respectable, with a ribbon or some
piece of color tied about her neck to
show that she belongs to a human fam
lily, Workmen in their little shops have
cat to keep them company, some
times sitting on q low counter at the
window, All are within reach of any
teasing hand, but I never saw a cat
chased or teased in any way, and it is
plain that they felt perfectly secure and
did not expect any injury. Personally,
found them unsociable, and that when
spoke to them they took no notice
and made no reply, even when l learned
an italian word or two to say to Them
They were happy at home and did not
need to make new friends.
In Naples there are men whose bust
ness it is to feed cats every day at
noon. People with economical tables
subscribe small sum to have their
cats provided for by the cats food men
The cats begin to feel quite hungry
about noon, and stroll out from the
shops in ali those crowded streets to
watch for their dinner | could not i'm
agine what was the excitement among
them that first day ! was out at that
hour. Presently I saw a part of the
daily distribution on bustling Chfaja,
| There were cats there who seemed to
watch what was dealt out to them crit
ically, 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 free
dom they love- and never did l see one
chased, or looking timid and anxious as
| if uncertain where to run to. | remenl-
| Der cat l used to pass near the old
Medici Church of San Spirito. She
| seemed to live on one of the upper
| floors of 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 contin-
ued to look up as IL watching her
friends or perhaps signalling to them
| that she was ready to go home.
There is a special cat church In Flor
ence, San Lorenzo, the church in which
so many Medici are buried. I don't
know whether that family was particu-
/ m 20 re Nv l,ptx a
but the cloisters of San Lorenzo are re-
served for homeless cats, whether they
come there by themselves or are
brought by people who want to dispose
of them. I 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 I was particu-
lar to time my first visit at noon, and
was disappointed 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 loiter-
ing 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 dilapida-
| tedlooking lot, but still interesting, be-
cause all cats have great deal of indi-
viduality, and, when possible, of indie
| pendence, also
| / cannot envy the horses and dogs Of
Italy, and certainly not the birds; but
| if had to be changed into an animal.
| might choose to be an Italian cat.-Our
| Animal Friends.