A SPAY WEEK IN SICILY............

The Sicilian regional law for the protection of animals prescribes that free living cats have to be spayed and neutered, tattooed with an "S" (for spayed) and taken back to their colonies after surgery. State veterinarian should do this job in clinics which should be put on disposal by the municipalities. A perfect law; the best solution to reduce the enormous number of cats strolling around in many of the Sicilian towns.

At Taormina (and who does not know this little town on top of a hill, pitoresc and very special!) hundreds of cats are begging for food from the tourists. Jennifer Pulling, an English Journalist wanted to help these poor creatures and asked The Anglo-Italian Society for the Protection of Animals in London for help. Dorothea Friz, a German vet and founder of LEGA PRO ANIMALE, repressentative of AISPA in southern Italy, arranged a meeting in between the Mayor of Taormina and the responsabiles of the State Veterinarian in 2003. AISPA offered all the equipment necessary for a spay and neuter center, if the town council would put on disposal a suitable facility and if the State Veterinarians would garantee staff and medicine. Nothing happenened!

In spring 2004 again the cats of the area had a great time. Big and strong tom cats were singing serenades during the nights to their beloved ones which ended very often in big fights. In small alleys you can smell the cat pee ...... Most of the kittens born were affected with cat flew, some did not survive. A situation which disturbes people who do not like cats, but especially people who like them. Many tourists from America, England, Germany do not return to places like this, because they cannot see these animals suffer.

The Mayor of Letojanni, a little village directly on the beach at the bottom of Taormina, listened to the cat ladies of the area and invited LEGA PRO ANIMALE. It was the first time that the brand new spay mobile was in use. From May 24 to 27 it was parked in the big garage of the municipality's trucks where electricity and water was available. A volunteer of LEGA PRO ANIMALE was driving around with a small van of LEGA PRO ANIMALE posing the cat traps brought from home in places indicated by the citizens of the village. As soon as a cat went into the trap it was transported to the spay mobile, where two vets were performing surgery immediatedly. After surgery the cats were put in a single warm plastic cage for one night and were returned the next morning to the place of catching.

We caught 116 cats, 115 have been "treated" (70 female and 45 male). One cat had to be euthanized because it had a tumor in its mouth. It has been very skinny and dehydrated and could not eat anymore people were telling us. 13 cats have been pregnant at the moment of surgery (57 kittens this way were not born). Even the little kittens have been spayed and neutered and riunited with their mothers right after surgery (10 female, 15 male, age 4 to 8 weeks). Last day a female stray dog has been spayed.

The general health situation found was very poor. Most of the kittens were affected with cat flew which can consitute in some cases a problem for humans. Nearly all the cats were infested with fleas, some with ticks. In some of the cats we found adult worms in their feces or round the tale (round and tape worm). The nutritional situation of the cats have been rather good. Nearly all the cats have been treated for round worms and fleas with selamectina, some with praziquantel for tape worm. Cats with respiratory symptoms have been treated with a long-acting antibiotics and eye drops. Follow-up treatments are impossible because these cats are feral. Their keeping in cages constitutes a matter of mistreatment of animals.

The cooperation with the citizens of Letojanni has been excellent. Some have been watching the traps and informed us immediatedly if a cat had entered. Some of the local people transported the trap with the cats to our "spay center". Only two families insisted that their "owned" cats can stroll around in the entire village without beeing spayed/neutered; they did not feel responsible for the offspring produced by them. The rest of the population appreciated a lot our services.

Certainly we did not manage to catch all the cats, they are very clever. We watched several times how mother cats carried away from the traps nearly grown-up kittens in their mouthes - simply incredible! To resolve the stray cat problem and to make sure that the total number of the cats will decrease their should be a spay and neuter center available at the spot which receives cats for s/n as soon as they are trapped. We certainly improved the health situation. The cats are definitedly in better conditions now and do not transmit zoonotic diseases for a while. But the remaining female will do their best to fill up the territory, especially for the rich food the cat ladies and restaurants are offering. In a couple of years, doing nothing anymore from now on, the situation will return to the same we found before our intervention.

We offered again in the name of The Anglo-Italian Society for the Protection of Animals to any Mayor of the area round Taormina the covering of the expenses for the equipment of a public spay and neuter center if a facility will be found and the State Veterinarians garantee the enforcement of the local law.

Otherwise we have to return there. The Mayor certainly will invite us again (our staff had free stay in a residence and free excellent food in a restaurant of the village) with the positive feedback he is earning from his voters. We only need to raise money again. This time we want to thank Jenny Pulling and her English donors (especially the British cat protection organisation "SNIP"), Margrit Pearson from Sveden, the American organisation: Friends of Roman Cats and some local residents who financed our trip and the surgeries.