Dear friends,

On June 1st we will re-open the Torre Argentina Cat Sanctuary to the public. Actually, the shelter has never been closed. Every day two or three volunteers have alternated to take care of the cats. The time schedule was somewhat reduced, nevertheless the proper care, feeding and cleaning always took more than five-six hours a day.
We could not receive visitors, but no visitor even came to our gate. Rome was a ghost town and the Torre Argentina district was a wasteland. You could only hear the roar of the empty tramway number 8 that in the absolute silence, sounded ominous and deafening.
This silence and stillness deceived our dear Lutezia and encouraged her to go outside exploring and caused her death. A score for the lockdown.
Now we are going to work again full time and full staff. Let us hope this horrible dark time is over forever. We must afford the challenges of “the reconstruction” and, more than ever, we will need energy, strength, determination and, most of all, LOVE.
The love that our dear friends in Italy and all over the world showered on the Torre Argentina cats made them able to go on with their life, and to be fed and taken care of as always. Maybe some of them missed the frenzy, the excitement, the warmth of the past daily life. Some really did. Some, instead, very much appreciated the calm, silence and stillness of the past two months. Who knows?
I must say that they were imperturbable and confident. They knew that a crowd of loving people was watching over them, their guardian angels.
Thank you, to the many old dear benefactors, and to the many new ones who came to the rescue in this uncertain moment in our history. Wisely enough, we had saved something for a rainy day, that seemed so far away and instead suddenly appeared around the corner…
What we could not do, was to carry on with the sterilizations. We had to stop them abruptly. No visitors, no donations, no sterilizations and consequently a great frustration… though, thanks to donations made purposely for this section of our activity, at least a fourth of the usual monthly sterilizations was made all the same, also thanks to heroic cat ladies and heroic vets. So much for the lockdown…
As everybody knows, we are fighting the sad phenomenon of stray cats. It is the first aim of our Statute. The only way to have some success in this endeavour is STERILIZATION. Apparently less romantic, less heart-warming and compassionate than taking care, adopting, feeding, cuddling, but indispensable to spare useless, most cruel suffering to the little adorable animals we love so much.
I promise you that from today we will begin anew with fresh strength.
First, though, I must thank again from the very bottom of my heart all the benefactors, with a special regard for all those who have animated the pages of our Facebook with their initiatives in our favour, showing unsuspected imagination, creativity and ability. Nothing was left unattended that could be useful to collect money for the welfare of our cats by Fiona, Janice, Pat, Rowan, Cate, and you will forgive me for not mentioning all those who have done something particular for our cats, such as promoting an auction or a book.
Moreover, what can I say about all the kind people who sent us packages of good food? I know that all of them had a letter of thanks (our Monica had a lot to do lately) but I wish to renew our gratitude here. Receiving food directly brought to our gate by the goodwill of generous people, made things much easier, and was sent directly by Heaven. I think that the many pictures published on Facebook showing fat, placid and satisfied cats are evidence enough of the appreciation of our little guests for this high level of treatment. You made Torre Argentina a five-star resort… So much for the lockdown.
I had to remain home for more than two months. In vain I assured my colleagues that I have antibodies as big as toads. They bossily confined me home, because they love me and do not want to lose me, since my age puts me in the high risk category. I do not think to be so precious and still I am a little ashamed of this withdrawal from the frontline. My only excuse is that I have to take four means of transportation to get to TA and, though immune, I could have been a dangerous vehicle of infection.
I am once again at TA, just thrice a week for the time being. I am angry because the lockdown and the forced physical inactivity that it involved almost made me a sick woman. I lost the advantages of almost two years of the postural gym. Another score for the lockdown…
I have learned though a great truth: I need the cats much more than the cats need me.
Laura L., Laura M., Daniele and Elisa, have alternated non-stop, provided with their precious self-certifications to be volunteers at the Torre Argentina feline colony and, since the authorities recognized that feeding and treating stray animals is a vital activity, they always passed the inspections of the law enforcement without serious inconveniences.

On the other hand, our indefatigable Valentina, who is in charge of purchasing and transporting all necessary supplies with her car, came across almost daily checkpoints. When she informed them that she was a Torre Argentina volunteer, in eight cases out of nine, they left her free to continue her driving, with smiles and expressions of approbation…Oh, the Torre Argentina cats, go ahead, madam… wow… This is, in a way, a confirmation of great popularity… So much for the lockdown…

People driving apparently aroused more suspicions than pedestrians did…

Actually, our Monica, who was the chief of this little army, came almost every day. In order to avoid public transportation, she came and went on foot, a very long walk. A great sacrifice, but also a way to keep in good physical shape; let us consider this positive aspect. She made sure to bring a big bag with the name of some popular supermarket… It was a bag full of cat covers to be washed at home, and not groceries… nevertheless, nobody ever stopped her. Mysteries of the lockdown…

It was difficult to dissuade affectionate volunteers from coming to TA. We had to take into account the severe laws prohibiting large gatherings, and more than two people made up a suspicious gang, according to the governmental dispositions. We had to avoid any dubious behaviour, for the sake of our cats.

Now I have to name all the people who worked backstage and not less than those under the limelight did. We have a team of writers, so to speak, to thank and correspond with our friends and benefactors. They usually work home, being constantly informed via Whatsapp, videos etc., about the whereabouts, antics, exertions, singularities, state of health of every single cat.

This team worked full force. Thank you, Silvia Z., the chief of the Adoption–at-a-Distance Program as well as one of the most active contributors to both our Facebook and Website. Thank you, Christine, Melanie, Martina, Monica, Gilles, Karen and Elisa, who have been the voice, and meows of our little ones.

Many of you can recognize these names since they signed the thank you emails on behalf of our furry bosses. Your generosity kept them steadily busy.

Moreover our Monica , Christine, and Elisa formed an assembly line to send pictures and calendars, an activity that the current dispositions made extremely complicated.

You may think I have forgotten Daniele. No, this is impossible. Daniele is an inseparable part of Torre Argentina. He is with us since 1998. He was an eighteen-year-old veterinary student and used to spend his weekends at Torre Argentina taking care of the cats. Maybe he gave up and renounced his dream of being a vet, because of the Torre Argentina cats who absorbed all his loving and caring faculties. By now he could have been one of the most famous and talented (and richest) vets in Rome.

In a way, he is very famous amongst our Facebook family as the protagonist of our E.R. videos on the state of health of our cats. Moreover, he is the unofficial coordinator of all the cat Roman ladies, having a map of almost all the cat colonies in Rome. Sometimes people signal a particular cat in bad condition, somewhere in Rome. Very often, he knows this very cat and can either reassure the informer or go to the rescue, knowing chapter and verse about the cat in question… He was able to recognise a cat whose picture had been sent us by a tourist who had taken it from a running bus…

Sometimes a particularly extreme situation makes you discover something new about yourself. This happened to our two Lauras, who transformed themselves into stage directors, film makers, photographers and screenwriters. Every day they sent fresh material to our Fiona who published it to keep you informed daily about your favourites. It seems that everybody enjoyed it very much. So much for the lockdown.

THANKS TO EVERYBODY.

Well. Maybe the nightmare is over. Tomorrow is another day…

With love and hope

Silvia V.