{"id":313359,"date":"2026-08-04T12:30:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T12:30:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/313359\/"},"modified":"2026-08-04T12:30:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T12:30:11","slug":"photographer-captures-the-working-bodega-cats-of-new-york-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/313359\/","title":{"rendered":"Photographer Captures the Working Bodega Cats of New York City"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>      <img src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Bodega-Cats-of-new_York-800x420.jpg\" alt=\"A three-panel collage shows three different cats in a store: an orange tabby walking on a glass display case, a brown tabby wearing a bow tie sitting in a LaCroix box, and a calico cat resting on a shelf next to snack boxes.\" width=\"800\" height=\"420\" class=\"size-large wp-image-866843\"   loading=\"eager\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"sync\"\/>Bodega Cats of New York <\/p>\n<p>New York City\u2019s bodega cats are no ordinary felines. They\u2019re working cats in neighborhood stores that are in charge of pest control \u2014 an important job in a city with a persistent rodent problem. <\/p>\n<p>They\u2019re also beloved by New York\u2019s residents. Regular customers know their local bodega cat\u2019s name, bring them food, and will even stop by just to say hello. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/newyorkbodegacats\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"follow external noopener nofollow\" data-wpel-link=\"external\">Bodega Cats of New York<\/a>, a project led by reporter Dan Rimada and photographer Gulce Kilkis, has spent four years documenting 60 bodega cats across all five boroughs. <\/p>\n<p>The first-of-its-kind project has now culminated in a book titled Bodega Cats of New York: Portraits and Stories from New York City\u2019s Working Cats. It features 120 photographs of the cats lounging on food shelves, curled up in shopping baskets, and patrolling for unwanted pests. <\/p>\n<p>Kilkis grew up in Istanbul, a city famous for its cats. She still documents cats in Turkey on her popular <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/turkish_street_cats\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"follow external noopener nofollow\" data-wpel-link=\"external\">Turkish Street Cats Instagram page<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p> <img src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Omish-Park-Slope-01-600x800.jpg\" alt=\"An orange tabby cat with white paws walks across a glass display case filled with cigars in a retail shop.\" width=\"600\" height=\"800\" class=\"size-large wp-image-866847\"   loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"low\" decoding=\"async\"\/>Omish Park Slope. | Bodega Cats of New York \/ Gulce Kilkis<br \/>\n <img src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Nancy-Sunset-Park-01-600x800.jpg\" alt=\"A small white and grey cat sits on a store shelf between boxes of Oreo cookies and Nutter Butter snacks.\" width=\"600\" height=\"800\" class=\"size-large wp-image-866846\"   loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"low\" decoding=\"async\"\/>Nancy \u2013 Sunset Park. | Bodega Cats of New York \/ Gulce Kilkis <img src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Cappuccino-and-Juanito-South-Slope-01-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"Two orange and white cats sit in a store aisle, one on the floor and one on a lower shelf beneath stacks of packaged tortillas.\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" class=\"size-large wp-image-866845\"   loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"low\" decoding=\"async\"\/>Cappuccino and Juanito \u2013 South Slope. | Bodega Cats of New York \/ Gulce Kilkis <\/p>\n<p>But while New Yorkers and visitors alike are familiar with Bodega cats, some may be surprised to learn that they are technically illegal. Under New York State food safety regulations, live animals generally aren\u2019t allowed in stores that sell food.<\/p>\n<p>Bodega owners can be fined if their feline employee is found napping between the canned goods and paper towels. But in practice, enforcement has often been inconsistent. Inspectors frequently prioritize education and correcting food safety issues over immediately issuing fines.<\/p>\n<p> <img src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Oreo-Bed-Stuy-01-600x800.jpg\" alt=\"A black cat with white whiskers sits on top of a wire rack filled with various bags of potato chips and snacks.\" width=\"600\" height=\"800\" class=\"size-large wp-image-866848\"   loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"low\" decoding=\"async\"\/>Oreo \u2013 Bed-Stuy. | Bodega Cats of New York \/ Gulce Kilkis <img src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Prince-SoHo-01-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"A black and white cat stands on a tiled floor in front of stacked boxes of beer and water in a store.\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" class=\"size-large wp-image-866849\"   loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"low\" decoding=\"async\"\/>Prince \u2013 SoHo. | Bodega Cats of New York \/ Gulce Kilkis <img src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Pumpkin-Williamsburg-01-600x800.jpg\" alt=\"A fluffy brown tabby cat stands in the middle of a store aisle, with a person standing in the background.\" width=\"600\" height=\"800\" class=\"size-large wp-image-866850\"   loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"low\" decoding=\"async\"\/>Pumpkin \u2013 Williamsburg. | Bodega Cats of New York \/ Gulce Kilkis<\/p>\n<p>The Bodega Cats of New York book arrives while two measures concerning cats in food stores remain in committee. New York City Council Int. 0830-2026 would override the city health-code prohibition, but state action would still be necessary. New York State Assembly bill A08341 would establish humane and sanitary standards, including veterinary care, vaccinations, spaying or neutering, food, water, rest, and sanitation requirements.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is not a legal argument. It is a record of something New Yorkers already know: the city runs on small businesses, and many of those businesses run with a cat asleep on the counter,\u201d says Rimada. <\/p>\n<p> <img src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/BCNY-27-600x800.jpg\" alt=\"A gray tabby cat rests in a round, fluffy, light gray bed on a store counter in front of shelves stocked with various products.\" width=\"600\" height=\"800\" class=\"size-large wp-image-866841\"   loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"low\" decoding=\"async\"\/>Bodega Cats of New York <img src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/BCNY-2-600x800.jpg\" alt=\"An orange tabby cat rests on top of a lottery ticket display case containing Mystery Multiplier and All Cash scratch-off tickets.\" width=\"600\" height=\"800\" class=\"size-large wp-image-866839\"   loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"low\" decoding=\"async\"\/>Bodega Cats of New York <img src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/BCNY-8-600x800.jpg\" alt=\"A black and white cat stands on its hind legs, reaching up to touch a shelf stocked with cans of soup and boxes of noodle mix.\" width=\"600\" height=\"800\" class=\"size-large wp-image-866840\"   loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"low\" decoding=\"async\"\/>Bodega Cats of New York <img src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/BCNY-37-copy-600x800.jpg\" alt=\"A brown tabby Scottish Fold cat with folded ears sits on a ledge next to a gray plush pet bed in front of a window.\" width=\"600\" height=\"800\" class=\"size-large wp-image-866842\"   loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"low\" decoding=\"async\"\/>Bodega Cats of New York <\/p>\n<p>A press release notes that the book does not treat the cats as mascots or stage them for photographs; it records the people, routines, and conditions around them, including the legal uncertainty that store owners and working cats face.<\/p>\n<p>The book also explores the gap between New York City\u2019s health code and state agriculture law, as well as what owners, customers, and advocates say a humane legal framework would need.<\/p>\n<p><img src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Book-Image-copy-590x800.jpg\" alt=\"A blue hardcover book titled &quot;Bodega Cats of New York&quot; featuring a black and white cat standing in a grocery store aisle.\" width=\"590\" height=\"800\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-866844\"   loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"low\" decoding=\"async\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Bodega Cats of New York: Portraits and Stories from New York City\u2019s Working Cats will be published by Epic Ink on November 3, 2026, priced at $30. To pre-order a copy of the book, head to the <a href=\"https:\/\/bodegacatsofnewyork.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"follow external noopener nofollow\" data-wpel-link=\"external\">Bodega Cats of New York website<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p> Affiliate Disclosure PetaPixel articles may include affiliate links; we may earn a commission if you buy through one. <\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Bodega Cats of New York New York City\u2019s bodega cats are no ordinary felines. They\u2019re working cats in&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":313360,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[9,24,55,54,56],"class_list":["post-313359","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-city","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-new-york-city-headlines","tag-new-york-city-news","tag-ny"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/313359","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=313359"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/313359\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/313360"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=313359"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=313359"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=313359"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}