European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 17, 1981, Darmstadt, Hesse                                February the stars and stripes Page 19 Pussy footing in ancient Rome by Paul Hofmann new York times which arrived in Rome from Egypt Long before Queen and which for More than years have had the run of the hallowed grounds on and around Capitol Are now leaving the cites historic they Are being driven out by Lack of mounting insecurity and perhaps air pollution and noise the local manifestations of worldwide intercity but the exodus of the Public cats that since ancient times have been a cherished roman sight leaves behind Only the tabbies that live in the dwindling number of private Homes in the Center of the eternal Many former visitors treasure snapshots of Large Colo Nies of Independent minded cats in the roman at the approaches to the pantheon and in Many other Arche logical Sites in but they would be hard pressed to get such pictures whenever i have a cold and cant visit the animals just go says Silvia a White haired widow who regularly brings fish Heads and tripe to the theater of Marcellus at the foot of Capitol whenever she turns up scores of cats crowd around softly their tails pointed straight to Tell the most of them look rather Fabbri picks up or buys the Choice morsels for her charges at the Campo i one of Romes largest outdoor wraps them in old newspapers and takes them to the ruined Amphitheater that shelters one of the last big cat until a few years other would come and take care of these poor Fabbri now it seems i am the Only Gat Tara left the word Gat Tara is roman vernacular for cat the local Branch of the National society for the Protection of animals says that hardly More than 20 Mattare Are left in Central Early in the 1970s there were still More than 100 such since Antiquity Many especially elderly have been offering food to the cats that had their habitat close to Pagan Christian monuments and cats had religious significance in egyptian and asian and some of the veneration must have Lin gered on when the animals were transplanted to the Center of the roman the first cats were imported by romans from Egypt about 150 roman households had Long been filled roman Tabby padding nonchalantly along the Wall surrounding the with pets maltese even harmless snakes that ate out of ones to own one of the exotic newcomers from Egypt was at first considered a when the romans found that cats chased rats and other they came to regard the animals As something like an Arm of the municipal sanitation de City officials Are careful to speak of homeless cats As vagrants rather than under an ancient cats enjoy the privilege of freely roaming the Public dog catchers keep rounding up mutts without masters greater Rome is said to have of them while it is forbidden to seize a cat in unless it is suspected of carrying the feline vagrants in the roman ruins Are mild tem lacking the toughness of Alley cats in other big centuries of food handouts from the Mattare May have dulled their Hunting roman rats today Are often bigger than the an official of the society for the Protection of Carlo remarked when he was asked Why the allegedly hungry cats of Romes Center didst look for food experts be Lieve that Rome has 30 million 10 times the number of the number of vagrant cats in the City is estimated at but very few of them have remained in the Center for Many offices have been pro lifer they have followed the people who have moved to the correr the animals now live in the courtyards of big housing projects on the in vacant lots and at construction he youngsters of ten stage veritable Hunting terrorizing the the archaeological areas at the Center would be perfect living space for the animals As they have been for so Many in the cats especially Black ones have been persecuted whenever superstition linked them with satan or the feline communes in the roman ruins appear to have been thriving through the until roman ail Rophile have banded together in a league of the flanking the society for the Protection of the feline fanciers have opened a Refuge for displaced cats on the cites Western some 200 cats Are living the City Hall needs the site for a new Road and a new shelter is being ii v8r ism bib new York times at Little moved to Dublin from England a year ago and found the driving and parking habits of the Irish something of a they have no regard whatsoever for the rules of the Little they just ignore them and make their own up on the in a its very Irish and very pragmatic and seems to work for a fellow Rory discovered this one night after parking his car on a Dublin Side Street while he visited a when he returned he found his car blocked by one driven by a Man who lived nearby and who regarded the spot As his the Man refused to two perhaps a bit More philosophical about such matters than their new York ended the confrontation by lifting Smiths car Over the other and who the i think we drive in a less orderly fashion than most other developed said Michael Ocon director of the government financed National Road safety for the most were kind of an easygoing most Irish began acquiring cars during the Prosperity of the and Oconnell estimates that nearly every household now has the number of cars on the Road has doubled in 10 with a corresponding Rise in traffic deaths and but Oconnell maintains that the Irish have a reasonable record compared with other one problem for Irish apart from trying to stay within the Legal  limit of about three pints of is the Many of which Are narrow and in need of a Large investment in roads is Oconnell weve avoided it for putting our Money instead into but there is no Way we can avoid it the problem is particularly acute in As a police chief 20thcentury traffic moves through the 12thcentury a recent report said traffic moves about two Miles an hour in the the Road situation seems to have engendered a relationship Between the Irish and their cars Akin to that Between the Cowboy and his it also makes for traffic jams in such unlikely places As the Village of Avoca in county where a trucker sat for an hour while awaiting the return of a Driver who had parked his bread truck on the main Street opposite an enormous blocking traffic in both most people Over 50 in Ireland recall going about the Countryside on tales of peddling too fast in the hitting a Rock and ending up in a ditch the plight of today Urban including Many peo ple who cannot afford is much More severe since they must compete with cars and Pedes Tri i want Long recalled a when i had two arguments with and both times i was station the first biker came flying out of the morning rain into the leaving his Bike on one Side and sending Over the Bonnet to the other the second biker ran into the Back of the neither had any insurance companies require Drivers to have their cars inspected every four years upon renewal of their but there is no annual inspection As in England and Many places in the United after a few months Many foreigners in Ireland give up their native habits in the famous become More Irish than the i knew i had changed when my English passengers suddenly began making comments and turning Green in the front said who grew up in the English Are much More la abiding on the id be frightened to drive Back id do All the wrong things for sure and be pulled i no longer consider myself an English