Last year, the National Park Service (NPS) announced its intention to manage the stray cat population that roams around the San Juan Historic Site. The estimated population of these felines is around 200.

According to a news release dated Jan. 9, the plan will address the stray cats that inhabit the fortress at the San Juan National Historic Site and those along the Paseo del Morro National Recreational Trail.
"The FONSI concludes a long planning process that will help us with management of free-ranging cats and their abandonment at the park. I am very conscious of the challenges that lay ahead since pet abandonment is an issue throughout Puerto Rico. The selected alternative gives the park the tools to work with this problem as well as ensuring that an animal welfare organization can partner with us to ensure the humane removal of the cats," said Myrna I Palfrey, Superintendent of the San Juan National Historic Site.

According to an Aug. 4, 2023 news release announcing a public meeting, three options were up for consideration. The first option was to do nothing about the cats. The second option was to partner with one or more animal welfare organizations to trap and remove the cats. A third option was to allow an animal welfare organization a six-month period to trap and remove cats from the park using current feeding stations. After this period, all feeders would be removed from the park.

The Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) document reveals that a cat colony began at Paseo del Morro National Recreational Trail in 1999, following construction of the trail. Only those cats within park boundaries will be affected by this initiative; other feline populations in San Juan or Puerto Rico at large will not be impacted.
The NPS plans to select an animal welfare organization tasked with removing both cats and feeding stations throughout affected areas over a six-month period. The FONSI document also outlines potential strategies for ensuring the cats' removal and preventing their return.