The Jungle Cats of Isla Cuale

Our neighbors have whiskers, and are the best perk of our condo location

Right next door to our condo is a jungle haven for Puerto Vallarta’s feline inhabitants. It’s an informal cat sanctuary in the middle of the lush Isla Cuale.

Our condo is the big building on the right. That little island in the middle of the river, just to the left, is Isla Cuale.

Once you walk onto the island and make your way past the vendors selling handmade crafts and souvenirs, the paths become greener and more jungle-like. And that’s where you’ll find the cats of Isla Cuale.

Roughly 100 friendly, free-roaming feral and abandoned cats live among the jungle paths, craft stalls, and restaurant patios. There are several covered areas where they can take shelter during storms, or presumably just lounge around and judge tourists when the weather is nice.

Local volunteers, resident business owners, and groups like Isla Cuale Gatos help feed and care for the cats and manage Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) programs. You’ll notice that many of the cats have clipped ears, indicating they’ve been spayed or neutered.

We love walking through here and stopping to give out pets, and occasionally treats. The cats seem healthy, happy, and quite content with their setup. They spend their days lounging in the shade, climbing trees, chasing squirrels, and generally living their best jungle-cat lives. Honestly, they may have retirement figured out even better than we do.

There are multiple ways to get onto the island, including some suspension bridges that cross the river.

I think some of the cats have figured out those bridges, and come to our condo complex for a change of scenery, and to lounge on the residents cars.

After our visit to the sanctuary, we finished our daily 6 mile walk along the malecon, having to divert through a couple neighborhoods due to the waves.

We are trying to eat out only once per day, so this morning we chose breakfast as that meal. It was an excellent stop on our walk at Soco’s Place for the best chilaquiles I’ve had.

One of the island kitties had apparently wandered a couple of blocks from home and joined us for breakfast. He positioned himself nearby and stared at us with those gorgeous green eyes, calculating exactly how long he would need to look adorable before a piece of steak or some pets came his way.

We love Puerto Vallarta!