Mexico’s National Palace Cats Designated “Living Fixed Assets”

Mexico’s presidential palace has officially classified its resident feral cats as “living fixed assets.” The designation obligates the Treasury to fund lifelong food, veterinary care and shelter for the nineteen cats that permanently inhabit the historic building. The move makes these felines the first animals in Mexico to receive such a status, extending a term normally reserved for buildings and furniture.

Associated Press

The cats have roamed the National Palace gardens and colonial halls for decades, with staff recalling their presence for up to 50 years. When President Andrés Manuel López Obrador took office in 2018, employees quietly fed the animals with leftovers, canned food, rice and soup. The palace later partnered with veterinarians from the National Autonomous University of Mexico to vaccinate, sterilize, micro-chip and construct small shelters and feeding stations. A permanent caretaker, veterinarian Jesús Arias, was hired to oversee their wellbeing; on March 4, 2024 he was photographed greeting the cat Ollin in a courtyard.

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President López Obrador has remarked that the cats “dominate” the palace and often walk ahead of him during official ceremonies. Palace staff report that the animals occasionally interrupt press briefings, as happened when the late cat Zeus wandered onto camera in July.

Associated Press

• Number of resident cats: 19 full-time, with additional transient visitors.

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• Veterinary program: Vaccination, sterilization, micro-chipping and dedicated feeding stations established since 2018.

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• Funding: Treasury allocation mandated for lifelong care, continuing beyond the current administration’s term in October.

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• “They have access to every part of the palace, so they walk in on meetings, interviews and wander onto camera,” — Jesús Arias

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• “The cats are now a symbol of the National Palace. Just as we understand this world, I wouldn’t understand the National Palace without the presence of these cats,” — Adriana Castillo Román, general director of the National Palace and Cultural Heritage Conservancy

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• “Some employees that like cats would bring them leftovers from home and, every once in a while, canned food or rice and soup,” — Adriana Castillo

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These measures formalize the cats’ status, ensuring their continued presence in a building that once belonged to Aztec Emperor Moctezuma and now serves as the seat of Mexico’s executive branch.

Associated Press