the group remained very popular during the following years, in 1999 it would be eventually converted into a samba school and renamed g. r. e. s. gato de bonsucesso, 'bonsucesso's cat', adopting the cat as its emblem and the blue and white as their official colors.

the new congregation remained since then in the lower tiers of the championship, being a sixth place in the fourth division, achieved in 2005, its best result up to this day.