Gatos en el circuito: una colonia felina inesperada
Sep 12, 2026·1 min read·Graded Spanish · word-by-word audio
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El antiguo circuito urbano de la Fórmula 1 en València se ha convertido en el hogar de más de doscientos gatos abandonados. Esta gran colonia felina está en el barrio del Grao, junto a un poblado chabolista. Los voluntarios del barrio no pueden controlar a todos los animales porque son muy pocos. Apenas seis personas, que van por turnos, intentan cuidar a esta población de felinos.
Las manos de los voluntarios son insuficientes. Los gatos caminan entre las chabolas y los escombros, y muchos tienen heridas o infecciones. La comida y los excrementos en la calle también pueden causar problemas de salud en esta zona vulnerable de la ciudad. Esta falta de medios humanos hace que el control de los animales sea muy lento.
Valencia tiene 22.000 gatos en unas 600 colonias, según el Ayuntamiento. En abril, el consistorio puso en marcha un centro de atención veterinaria para felinos comunitarios. Allí llevan a los gatos del circuito para recibir atención gratuita. El Ayuntamiento dice que de los 238 gatos contabilizados, quedan 86 sin esterilizar. Los voluntarios piden un plan urgente de esterilización y atención veterinaria.
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Watch out, English speaker
Spanish uses the reflexive verb 'convertirse en' for 'to become,' while English simply uses 'to become' without a reflexive pronoun. English speakers might mistakenly say 'se ha convertido' as 'it has converted itself,' but the reflexive is just part of the verb. Also, note that 'convertirse en' requires the preposition 'en' before the result, unlike English 'become' which takes a direct object.
Spanish 'hacer que' triggers the subjunctive mood, but English 'makes' is followed by an infinitive without 'to' (e.g., 'makes the control be slow' is wrong; it's 'makes the control slow'). English speakers often forget to use the subjunctive after 'hacer que' and instead use the indicative, which sounds incorrect in Spanish. Remember that the subjunctive is required because 'hacer que' expresses an action that causes something else to happen.
Key vocabulary
circuitom.
circuit; track
“El antiguo circuito de Fórmula 1 ahora tiene gatos.”— The old Formula 1 circuit now has cats.
Pattern circuito urbano city circuit
Compare pista track
plural circuitos
💡 From Latin circuitus, meaning 'a going around'; related to English circuit.
coloniaf.
colony; community
“La colonia felina tiene más de 200 gatos.”— The feline colony has more than 200 cats.
Pattern colonia felina cat colony
Compare grupo group
plural colonias
💡 Originally meant 'colony'; here extended to mean 'animal colony'.
voluntariom./f.
volunteer
“Los voluntarios cuidan a los gatos.”— The volunteers take care of the cats.
Pattern voluntario del barrio neighborhood volunteer
Compare ayudante helper
plural voluntarios
💡 From Latin voluntarius, meaning 'voluntary'.
esterilizarv.
to sterilize; to neuter
“Quieren esterilizar a los gatos del circuito.”— They want to sterilize the cats on the circuit.
Pattern esterilizar a los gatos to sterilize the cats
Compare castrar to castrate
yo esterilizo, tú esterilizas
💡 From estéril ('sterile'); related to English sterilize.
cachorrom.
kitten; cub
“Hay cerca de 60 cachorros en la colonia.”— There are about 60 kittens in the colony.
Pattern cachorros de gato kittens
Compare gatito kitten
plural cachorros
💡 Usually refers to the young of a dog or cat; here refers to kittens.
chabolaf.
shack; hut
“Los gatos viven entre las chabolas.”— The cats live among the shacks.
Pattern poblado chabolista shantytown
Compare casa precaria makeshift house
plural chabolas
💡 Refers to a simple shelter built from scrap materials, common on the edges of cities.
escombrom.
rubble; debris
“Los gatos caminan entre los escombros.”— The cats walk among the rubble.
Pattern entre los escombros among the rubble
Compare ruina ruin
plural escombros
💡 Often appears in the plural, referring to construction debris or ruins.
heridaf.
wound; injury
“Muchos gatos tienen heridas o infecciones.”— Many cats have wounds or infections.
Pattern tener heridas to have wounds
Compare lesión injury
plural heridas
💡 From herir ('to wound'); note that the h is silent.
excrementom.
excrement; feces
“Los excrementos en la calle causan problemas.”— Excrement on the street causes problems.
Pattern excrementos en la calle excrement on the street
Compare desecho waste
plural excrementos
💡 Formal term; in everyday speech also caca or heces.
salubridadf.
health; sanitation
“La falta de limpieza puede causar problemas de salubridad.”— Lack of cleanliness can cause health problems.
Pattern problema de salubridad public health problem
Compare higiene hygiene
no common plural
💡 From salud ('health'), referring to public health conditions.
ayuntamientom.
city council
“El Ayuntamiento dice que quedan 86 sin esterilizar.”— The City Council says there are 86 left unsterilized.
Pattern el Ayuntamiento de Valencia Valencia City Council
Compare consistorio city council
plural ayuntamientos
💡 The official name for a Spanish city's governing body.
contabilizarv.
to count; to record
“Han contabilizado 238 gatos en el circuito.”— They have counted 238 cats on the circuit.
Pattern gatos contabilizados counted cats
Compare contar to count
yo contabilizo, tú contabilizas
💡 From contable ('countable'), meaning to tally or keep count.
Grammar spotlight
se ha convertido en (to become)
A2
convertirse en means 'to become' and is used as a reflexive verb. se ha convertido is the present perfect, indicating a change that has already happened.
“El antiguo circuito se ha convertido en el hogar de más de doscientos gatos.”— The old circuit has become the home of more than two hundred cats.
⚠️ Don't omit the reflexive pronoun se, and don't replace en with a.
hace que + subjunctive (to make/cause)
B1
hacer que is followed by the subjunctive and means 'to make something happen.' The subject is usually a cause or situation.
“Esta falta de medios humanos hace que el control de los animales sea muy lento.”— This lack of human resources makes the control of the animals very slow.
⚠️ After hacer que, you must use the subjunctive, not the indicative.
Sentence patterns to steal
El antiguo circuito urbano de la Fórmula 1 en València se ha convertido en el hogar de más de doscientos gatos abandonados.
The old Formula 1 street circuit in Valencia has become the home of more than two hundred abandoned cats.
X se ha convertido en YX can be replaced with any place or thing, and Y with a new identity or state.
Las manos de los voluntarios son insuficientes.
The volunteers are short-handed.
Las manos de + person/organization + son insuficientesmanos can be replaced with recursos (resources) or fondos (funds).
Esta falta de medios humanos hace que el control de los animales sea muy lento.
This lack of human resources makes the control of the animals very slow.
Esta falta de + noun + hace que + clause (subjunctive)After falta de, you can use any lacking thing; the clause states the result.
Los voluntarios piden un plan urgente de esterilización y atención veterinaria.
The volunteers are calling for an urgent plan for sterilization and veterinary care.
pedir un plan urgente de + nounAfter plan urgente de, you can use any matter that needs urgent action.
Managing Stray Cats in Spain
Many Spanish cities have community cat colonies (colonias felinas) cared for by volunteers. In 2023, Spain passed an animal welfare law that makes city councils responsible for managing these colonies, including sterilization and veterinary care. Valencia has about 600 colonies with a total of 22,000 cats.
Source: Spanish Animal Welfare Law (Ley 7/2023) and public data from Valencia City Council