Lima's most photographed colony of cats lives in the heart of Miraflores at Parque Kennedy. Dozens of them — and the number fluctuates — sleep on the benches, nest in the flower beds, and patrol the grass at all hours. An animal-welfare NGO sterilises and vaccinates the colony, neighbours and street vendors feed them, and Miraflores municipal council has refused several proposals to relocate them.
The cats arrived gradually after a 17th-century convent on the site was demolished and never quite left. They are indifferent to humans but used to being photographed and petted. The northern end of the park, by the Iglesia La Virgen Milagrosa, has the highest density.