On the one hand, there are all sorts of cute cats and dogs running around the streets in Italy. On the other hand, it turns out they have some serious problems with people not fixing their animals, and abandonment of pets is rampant. On that sobering note, I present the best, cutest and sweetest of the animals we came across in our travels...

We saw this little cutie wandering around the small villages near Bellagio, on Lake Como. Nabbed a shot of him peeking out from behind these flowers, I think he's afraid of Juniper or he might have come closer.

This guy lived by the long term apartments owned by the Hotel Belvedere, where we stayed in Bellagio. After a few cuddles he followed me around the terrace.

Turns out he was so fierce, he actually merited a warning sign! I might have stayed away had I known.

Mr. Floppy Ear lived beside the road up to Montepulciano. He was quite the guard dog, and I thought he might have a heart attack he was barking so furiously at us. I tried to encourage him, saying things like "yes, you are very scary", but that only seemed to enrage him more.

Nico's dog Diva roamed around Sant' Antonio some of the days. She played with us for awhile, including "helping" us gather wood.

After we went inside for the night, she lingered at our door waiting for us to come back outside to play. She kept scratching at the door, thinking "if only they could see me, surely they would come and love me!" It was completely heartbreaking!

Another warning sign, spotted at a shop in Siena - I almost bought this one for Kirsi, but I figured the chances of it making it home in the luggage in one piece were approximately zero.

This is Diva's Husband...

...Diva's Husband and Son...

...and Diva's other Son (Daughter?), all lounging at the Avignonesi winery.

This is the cat that walked on our table at Cortona during lunch while Juniper was in the bathroom. He tried to walk on a few other tables, but the other patrons were less sympathetic than I was.

Nico also had a cat - or at least there was a cat at Sant' Antonio.

I loved this guy all snuggled up at the Coliseum. He got to see more of the ruins than we did!

The cat situation in Rome is so bad they've actually set up a Cat Sanctuary in the Torre Argentina ruins. We saw about 20 cats loitering there when we passed by. (Read more about the Cat Sancutary here)