In honor of breaking down the walls of political correctness, let me just share with you a quick though. You’re a cunt. Piss off, asshole.

TAKE CARE OF THE CATS.

peru, for the most part, is full of superstitious shits and vast amounts of IDPs. take care of your own, peru.

the foods good though.

ah, and drugs. them bitches make drugs.

Ok, you first… hop in the caldron you witch!!

the cats in Kenedy Park are very well behaved, if anything they do the best they can to stay out of your way. i am quite happy to see them and my kids too. we all go out every morning to feed and pet them.

We had a similar situation in Port Canaveral, Florida, which has been handled the same way. Because there’s a lot of fishing off the docks and jetties, there was always lots of fish parts left behind, which attracted rats and cats. The cats have done a great job of keeping the rat population under control, and local vets banded together with citizens to vaccinate and sterilize the cats. It’s really a win/win for everyone, I think, as is the situation in Miraflores.

I think the people who complain about the cats are people who are for the most part ignorant of cats, which is understandable living here in Lima, where many of the cats you see are pretty ragged and diseased looking. But the cats at the park are obviously well fed and healthy looking, and I agree that signage explaining the history of the cats and giving some rules about feeding/petting etc. would be awesome. They could become as famous as Hemingway’s Cats, and maybe be just another reason for tourists to visit Lima.

I was distressed to learn from this article that people are using Parque Kennedy as a dumping ground for unwanted cats. This practice must be stopped, for the sake of all the animals there. Articles such as this one help to spread the message, but I’m sure that most Limenos haven’t read it. (Is this a translation of an El Comercio article? The photo credit suggest so.)

In any case, the city of Miraflores should consider putting up signs in the park with some guidelines about the cats — about feeding them (or not feeding them), not poisoning them, not dumping more cats there. Peruvians need more education about animal welfare in general and they most definitely need to know what the city’s official stance on the cats is. Without clear guidelines or explanations of the ‘cat zoo,’ people are going to wonder all sorts of things and be concerned about sanitation and disease, which will prompt a few people to want to take matters into their own hands (ie, dole out poison). Enlisting the public’s help by educating them and asking for their cooperation is a way to cut down on poisonings and animal abuse.