In the southern Italian village of Rosaneto in the Basilicata region of Italy, they have cats, lots of them. Indeed, there are so many of these felines that the residents of Rosaneto didn’t know what to do with them. Until, that was, enterprising local entrepreneur, Franco Latitante, had a bright idea. Why not use cat’s milk to make mozzarella?

Putting his money where his mouth was, in a whisker he had set up Italy’s first, and so far, only cat milking facility. Next door, the cat’s milk is transformed into creamy mozzarella cheese. Italy’s president Napolitano recently paid a visit to Latitante’s new business and gave his presidential thumbs up to Italy’s latest natural product.

Local resident, Monica Fusa, is very enthusiastic about Latitante’s creamy creation, and says that her kids love it. Several local shop owners and a supermarket chain are stocking this new mozzarella, and are very happy with sales so far. Mario Contropelo, who owns a supermarket in nearby Castrocucco says that his customers cannot get enough of this new cheese. “This new cat’s milk mozzarella has everyone licking their lips in anticipation”, he commented when interviewed by local newspaper Il Gattopardo.

Federico Fantozzi is also a happy chap, seeing as he now has a new job as Rosaneto’s official cat catcher and milker. “Yesterday,”, he purred, “I caught seventy three strays. Most of them were pregnant females, and were attached to the cat milking equipment in Latitiante’s new dairy facility.” He loves his new work, but, as the scratches on his arms attest, it can be a little hazardous at times.

To keep Italy’s animal rights activists happy, Latitante, Italy’s first cat’s milk mozzarella maker, has released some photographs of the moggies being milked. Here’s one, so you can see that the cats concerned are perfectly happy to be subjected to the milking procedure.

This cat, Rosella, as she’s been called, is one of Latitante’s most productive pussies, putting out a litre of high quality milk daily. Around 4.5 litres of fresh cat’s milk is needed to produce each kilo of tasty cat’s milk mozzarella.

Latitante has even coined a name for this new mozzarella, he calls it “Gazzarella” (The Italian for cat is “gatto”), and is on the point of applying to have his new cheese product registered with the EU as an official ‘Made in Italy’ foodstuff. Soon after, Latitante hopes to start distributing his new cheese all over the world.

Try Gazzarella Pizza

At the Hotel Ristorante La Tana: Via delle amicizie 22, Castrocucco di Maratea, 85046, in Basilicata, you can now order pizza topped with Gazzarella mozzarella cheese. But be sure to get there early on in the evening, as these particular pizzas are being lapped up very quickly. Give the La Tana pizzeria restaurant a call on (0039) 34 625 5948 to book a table.

Not Everyone is Happy

Gaetano Pudore of the Italian Mozzarella Makers Federation is not purring with contentment over this new cat’s milk mozzarella, as he fears that it may dent sales of Italy’s famous Buffalo Mozzarella. He is reportedly considering taking Latitante to court for using the mozzarella name.

Top Cat Sponsor

Latitante, when questioned about this, said that he was not worried, indeed, he has recently signed a sponsorship deal with one of Italy’s top football players. Who? Why, Milan player, Gennaro Gattuso, of course! Find out more about the Gattuso sponsorship deal by clicking here.