Neighbourhood San Juan, Puerto Rico
Cats in Old San Juan
Blue cobbles, pastel houses, two Spanish forts, and a colony of cats along the sea wall that has been fed by volunteers for twenty years and fought over by the federal government for the last two. Go while it is still there.
Where to find cats in Old San Juan: Old San Juan, the walled colonial city on the islet at the mouth of the bay, and the Paseo del Morro under its sea walls. When: Early morning or late afternoon; the middle of the day is hot and the cruise ships are in. December to April for the weather. Why here: The best-known cat colony in the Caribbean, on the most beautiful walk in the city, with a story that is still being decided.
The short version
- Where
- Old San Juan, the walled colonial city on the islet at the mouth of the bay, and the Paseo del Morro under its sea walls
- When
- Early morning or late afternoon; the middle of the day is hot and the cruise ships are in. December to April for the weather
- How long
- Half a day for the old city and the Paseo. A day with the two forts
- What it costs
- The streets and the Paseo are free. The forts are one ticket for both
- Why here
- The best-known cat colony in the Caribbean, on the most beautiful walk in the city, with a story that is still being decided
What to bring
- The morningThe Paseo del Morro has no shade. The cats and the volunteers are out early; by noon everyone is under a wall.
- Shoes for cobblesThe blue cobbles were ballast in Spanish ships and they are slippery when it rains, which it does, briefly, most afternoons.
- A donation for Save a GatoThe volunteers have trapped, neutered and fed the colony since 2004 on donations. They are the reason it is healthy.
- The current newsThe National Park Service announced in 2023 that it would remove the cats from the Paseo. The volunteers challenged it. Check what has happened before you plan a trip around them.
Why there are cats everywhere
Under the walls of the oldest city in the United States, a colony of cats has been fed for twenty years, and for the last two the government has been trying to move them.
Old San Juan is seven blocks of pastel houses on blue cobbles at the end of an islet, walled by the Spanish and guarded by two forts, El Morro at the point and San Cristóbal on the landward side. The forts and the walls are a National Historic Site, and the Paseo del Morro, the path that runs along the base of the sea wall from the old city gate to the point, is the prettiest walk in San Juan. It is also where the cats live.
They have been there for generations, descendants of ships’ cats and abandoned pets, in the rocks between the wall and the sea. Since 2004 a volunteer group, Save a Gato, has trapped, neutered, vaccinated and fed them, with feeding stations along the Paseo and an adoption programme that has rehomed hundreds. The colony was, by the standards of these things, a success: healthy, stable, ear-tipped, and a fixture of the walk.
Then in late 2023 the National Park Service announced that it would remove the cats from the Paseo, citing the site’s historic fabric and visitor complaints, and gave the volunteers six months. The volunteers went to court. What happens next is still being decided as we write this, and it may have been decided by the time you read it. The cats in the streets of the old city, on Calle del Hospital and in the plazas, are outside the park and outside the argument. The ones on the Paseo are the ones to see while you can.
The walk
Through the old city gate onto the Paseo, along the base of the walls to El Morro, back through the streets to the plazas and Calle del Hospital, and out to San Cristóbal. Three hours, with the forts.
- From San Juan airportTaxi to Old San Juan25 minFixed fares from the airport to the old city. Ask for Viejo San Juan.
- From Condado or Isla VerdeBus T5 or a taxi30 minThe bus is slow but cheap; a taxi is quick. Uber works in San Juan.
- From The cruise piersWalk5 minYou are already there. Turn left along the Paseo de la Princesa.
Paseo de la Princesa
The tree-lined promenade outside the walls, with the fountain at the end and the old city gate beyond. The first cats are in the gardens along it, and the volunteers’ feeding stations begin here.
On the cobbles. Ballast from Spanish ships, now a cat’s pavement.Lee Cannon, CC BY-SA 2.0 Paseo del Morro
Through the red city gate and left along the base of the sea wall to the point. This is the colony: cats in the rocks, on the path, under the wall. No shade, so go early. The walk ends under El Morro.
A colony cat. Ear-tipped, fed, and the subject of a federal dispute.Stabbur's Master, CC BY-SA 2.0 Calle del Hospital
Back into the old city and down one of the quieter streets, where the cats sit on the doorsteps and between the parked cars. The photographs on this page come from here. Outside the park, outside the argument.
Calle del Hospital. A street cat in the ordinary sense.Stabbur's Master, CC BY-SA 2.0 La Perla
The neighbourhood outside the wall on the north shore, below the old city, painted in every colour and once off the tourist map. Now it is a video location and a place to be respectful in. Cats on the steps down.
Between the cars, on the cobbles, waiting for the shade to move.Lee Cannon, CC BY-SA 2.0 Castillo San Cristóbal
The landward fort, the biggest the Spanish built in the Americas, at the eastern end of the old city. The same ticket as El Morro. Cats on the grass outside; the view from the top goes both ways.
The end of the walk, and the cat has the right idea.Stabbur's Master, CC BY-SA 2.0
Same numbers as the list. Worth keeping open on your phone.
The cats you will meet
Caribbean street cats: short-coated, every colour, thin in the way island cats are, and, on the Paseo, ear-tipped and vaccinated by the volunteers. Sociable at the feeding stations, wary in the rocks, and used to a great many people with cameras.
Paseo cats
In the rocks and on the path under the sea wall.
The colony. Fed by Save a Gato, contested by the park.
Street cats
On the doorsteps of the quieter streets.
Fed by residents, outside the argument.
Fort cats
On the grass outside San Cristóbal.
Fewer, and wilder. Leave them.
Everybody says The cats are being removed and are gone.
Actually The park service announced a removal in 2023 and the volunteers challenged it. When we last checked, the colony was still on the Paseo and the case was not finished. Check Save a Gato’s pages for the latest before you plan around them.
How not to be the annoying one
- Use the feeding stations, or better, give to the volunteers. Food dropped in the rocks brings rats and gives the park its argument.
- The Paseo is a national park. Stay on the path and do not climb the wall or the rocks for a photograph.
- La Perla is a neighbourhood, not an attraction. Be a guest.
- Do not carry a cat off the Paseo to adopt it. Save a Gato has a process and it works.
- If you see a trap, leave it. It belongs to the people helping.
