‘Cats of Rome’ Shares the Lives of the City’s Resident Felines (Exclusive) ArticlePure

Rome is a tangled anachronism, a city where the ancient is strangled on all sides by the chaos of 21st century life.  People from all over the world come to commune with the relics of ancient life, to eat the famed Roman pizza and colorful gelato that is offered on every corner. Yet among the explosive human presence there is a significant yet largely hidden animal presence: tens of thousands of feral cats who are protected by law and live quietly in colonies amidst architectural ruins, parks and neighborhoods around the city. So quietly in fact that, these days if you’re not looking for them, you might not see a single cat while you’re there. 

Cats were considered sacred by the Goddess Diana and were protected under Roman law as early as the first century AD. In modern Rome, there are an estimated 4,000 registered cat colonies that range in size from five to 40 cats and are cared for by gattaras, Roman women who volunteer to feed and care for them. 

I have always been devoted to animals and have photographed them my whole life, even before I knew that was what I was doing. My childhood polaroids are full of furry faces. Some were my own pets, but even more were random dogs and cats and even squirrels that I somehow cajoled into posing for me. Animals quiet my brain and cause my sizzling anxiety to cool. 

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It  wasn’t until I started documenting homeless dogs at an animal shelter in 2005 that I began making pictures of animals with intention and purpose. What started as snapshots to try and get dogs adopted turned into my first book Shelter Dogs in 2006. The book was an SOS call to Americans who didn’t realize that millions of dogs were dying in shelters every year. The response was enormous. 

My next book was about the street dogs of Mexico and Puerto Rico and then books about wild horses, nocturnal animals, wild babies, raptors and farm animals followed. With each new project, I got to challenge my technical knowledge, stretch and flex my artistic vision and advocate for animals. Over the years I have been sent all over the world to work, but I still harbored that little furry dream about doing a project on Rome’s iconic cats. Finally in 2024, I got that chance.

Like nearly every tourist that journeys to Rome, I started at the coliseum (again) but found it greatly changed from my first visit in 2001. Despite cat-themed wallpaper and copious cat merch in and around the area, I saw no cats.  Several conversations with employees and three visits later I finally found Augusto, one of only two remaining coliseum cats. (The rest of the colony has been moved across the street to Domus Aurea for safety). 

Augusto is doted on by the staff and treated as a celeb by tourists. When he makes himself visible (while staying well out of arm’s reach), the crowd quickly slides into paparazzi mode. 

In any storied city, there are the monolithic attractions that everyone feels obligated to see at least once, and then the hidden gems that reward the intrepid with quiet, unspoiled beauty. For me none in Rome were as enchanting as the Non-Catholic Cemetery which I stumbled on completely by accident. (Rome is so ubiquitously Catholic that a protestant cemetery is designated simply as “non-Catholic”.) 

Tucked away behind stone walls next to the Pyramid of Celsius, this little verdant oasis houses the graves of Shelley and Keats along with ex-pats, Victorian youth who died while on their grand tour, and even dignitaries. Little rows of graves climb a gentle hill and are filled in on all sides by green so saturated it makes your eyes tear. Cats roam freely up and down the little pebble paths, wind around headstones and sprawl out in the flowers. It is a special place that feels dreamlike and cloistered unlike most of the city, which is so palpable and at times, ostentatious. 

During my time in Rome I photographed eight cat colonies, chosen for their size, prominence and accessibility but there are literally thousands more. I could visit a new colony every single day for 10 years and not see them all. As much as I want them to always be there, I also hope that their number continues to decline. Today, the cats who live in them were either born feral or are abandoned pets. Despite the care they receive, they are still vulnerable to the dangers of living in a huge city and many bear the scars of it. In Rome, the froth of noise and motion seems to swirl around the ruins that stand stock still, witness to thousands of years of human triumph and failure. In between the uproar and the unchanging, are the cats, the guardians of the Eternal City. 

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Cats of Rome by Traer Scott is on sale now, wherever books are sold.