Paper short abstract:

This paper analyses the politics of care and management of feral cat colonies in Rome, looking at feeding practices and welfare policies in the city. The collaborative action of different social actors shapes the urban ecological niches where stray cats and other beings live.

Paper long abstract:

This paper analyses the politics of care and management of feral cat colonies in Rome, looking at feeding practices and welfare dynamics put in place by private volunteers, administrative personnel, and veterinarians. Rome hosts more than 4000 feral cat colonies and some of the largest colonies in Europe, situated around touristic attractions and archaeological sites, but also in peripheral and marginal locations. In these settings, stray cats maintain an ambivalent status as urban pests to be controlled, beloved pets to be looked after, and untamed animals who enjoy their freedom and space. Colonies are censed and managed at an administrative level, with the help of vets, animal welfare associations or self-managed groups of volunteers whose interaction with cats shape notions of ferality and domesticity in the urban environment.

As feral cats are cared for and assisted through this collaborative effort, cat-feeding practices involve, directly and indirectly, other species cohabiting the same ecological niche, such as pigeons, rodents, or seagulls. Drawing from ethnographic data, I will look at how these contact zones foster not only competitive relations but also commensality, care and trust in multispecies urban ecologies.