residency for pets

sorry am not a cat person but others might be able to sayhere in Italy when you own a dog the first thing you should do is register it with the comune... generally via a vet who will check their medical records...vis a vis up to days vaccinations and microchip readingyou might think that would be the end of it... but no if you move house here you not only end up doing your own human type re registration but you also have to do it for your dogs...so be aware ...also when you take on a rescue dog i believe it remains the property of the state and has to be registered in that way... you are just the caretakers of it ...   anyway lots of form filling type bits and pieces and once again a sympathetic vet is essential i would say it owning a pet here in Italy... as i say no idea about other domestic animals and would imagine control of cats in this way would be hard... but am sure a cat acquired via a rescue society would have to go through the same processfinally the law here is that the comune is responsible for all dogs (maybe cats) within its boundaries... therefore an ill/abandoned dog should be reported to the comune...its the mayors responsibility to take care of theme... if reported to the veterinary asl system they will pick up the dog perform checks and treatment, vaccinations but then put it back in the comune with a microchip...  obviously its in a mayors interest to not maintain his civic duty...have mentioned Teramo as a city in the past that takes this quite seriously ... ok some escape the net... but they have adopted to my mind a good system where dogs are adopted via a neighbourhood scheme... people often not be able to keep dogs in apartments but will happily feed and care for them and keep a watch on their health.. the dog will obviously stay around the area and becomes  registered as a vagabond in that part of town ...picked up once a year by the asl to do its vaccinations etc...the other thing here in Italy ... and some regions or provinces have more problems with this than others is the rescue centre scandal where people get quite a lot of money to look after dogs... and the more they have the more they get... so they refuse to allow any to be adopted... and indeed keep pups to boost income ...in these situations many of the animals die and yet remain on their books for long after to continue their benefit claims... its very big business in some areas... luckily there are Italian forums which are heavily involved in outing these practices... not always successfully because once again these things are often tied in with local comunes ad vets working with them... an exception rather than a rule.. but sometimes a rescue centre here is more a prison than a place to help... so make sure you get to know these sorts of places before reporting a stray dog