Pssst…I’m going to let you in on a little something. The internet is full of cats. They’re everywhere!
Go ahead, google cats. I did… 665,000,000 results!!! That my friends is a staggering amount of cat chat going on. If each one of those results were a 2″ long coughed up hairball, they would circle the globe 383 or so times laid end to end.
With that image in your head, our post “Cats of Italy” is going to be number 665,000,001.
I will be first to admit that we are fans of the furry felines so crossing paths with a cat in Italy is always a good reason to stop and take multiple pictures of them. Now, you may be thinking to yourself “What’s so special about the cats of Italy?” Well… nothing really. Nothing, until you spot one casually strolling along a narrow cobblestone street, sandwiched between multi storied buildings which are hundreds of years old!
These streetwise felines sport an obvious attitude of indifference towards the tourists that are all around them. The term “Cool Cats” could have been coined here by some traveller who noticed their swagger.
What makes the Italian domestic Felis catus seem more exotic than our own domestic house cats is location, location, location.
To demonstrate what I am saying, I’ll offer up this example to drive home the point. Let’s just say I went out and got myself a nice haircut and a good clean shave. Next, I get dressed up in a slick fitting suit to go out for a cruise in a sweet new Chevy Impala. For the most part, I would bet passersby would take one look at me and think…”Meh.” Now On the other hand, put that same me in a shiny new Lamborghini and most certainly those same passersby would say… “Hubba hubba.”
Cats in Italy seem more exotic to me mostly because Italy still seems more exotic to me.
A lounging cat can soften the look of the ancient stone environment they inhabit.
What’s fun about cat spotting in Italy isn’t that you might see one, (you will) it’s where you see them. Take a good look around and you’ll most likely see them relaxing on ancient stone walls or resting at the foot of a famous monument. Look up occasionally and you are likely to see one peering down on you from a window or balcony.
The contrast of soft fur and hard stone walls always makes for great pictures.
Knowing one’s boundaries is something the cats of Italy seem to know quite well.
From what I can see the resident cat population seems to know the boundaries that they can and cannot cross. Occasionally you will see a cat or kitten perched in the doorway of a ristorante, patiently waiting for a handout from a kind chef or waiter. However, I’m pretty sure they are conditioned to know if they venture too far into the kitchen an unfriendly response awaits.
As we all know a picture is worth a thousand words, so I’ll let these photographs do the talking for me.
When it finally comes time for you to visit Italy, take a good look around as you see the sights.
Amid the statues and ruins or moving among the humans in the middle of a piazza, there just may be a pair of cat eyes watching you. If you’re lucky enough, you may even get one to stop next to you, so that you can show them some love.
If you need a bit more cute and cuddly, click our Pinterest link to cats for more!
What a great way to showcase Italy! Thank you for your insight!
Thank you Heather. We’re happy you liked the post. 🙂
P&T
Hi P&T,
Loved your Cats article. Great photos! I have come to expect no less.
Blog functioned perfectly on my old iPad2.
Looking fwd to perusing your other entries, and the new stuff to come this summer!
Kev
Hi Kevin. Thank you very much for the feedback and we’re glad you enjoyed the post. I hope you’ll enjoy our past and future posts as well. 🙂
P&T
It’s interesting that the cats know not to venture into the restaurants. As a cat lover and cat artist, I loved this article!
Thank you very much Cindy. It never gets old taking photos of every cat we see when we’re in Italy! 😀