There are some excellent pictures of Bodega cats on Facebook. They really do capture the spirit of the community of these 10,000 corner shops in New York City which are characterised by their resident domestic cats who add to the ambience tremendously, I think. I think that customers like them too. However, it seems that the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene considers Bodega cats to be a “general deficiency”! I would consider them to be a “general advantage”. There are concerns over the potential for food contamination blah blah blah blah!
The New York Times reports that many bodega owners keep their resident commununity cat in spite of the law because they are seen as preferable to rodent infestations, which also carry a fine of $300.
“Bodega” is a word which describes a small corner store market that sells groceries and wine in New York City. You see them all over the place and they are like a corner shop in the UK and a convenience store elsewhere. They are very useful and I am pleased to say that they are sometimes adorned with a friendly domestic cat ready and willing to greet you. Or climb up you and sit on your head! Or contaminate the food! Or squash a loaf of bread to the point where it is unsaleable. But in every instance they add to the store. They give the store a soul or am I being a little bit too poetic. They also keep rodents at bay. These are working cats after all.
Here are six selected pictures from Facebook of Bodega cats. As you can see I love them to bits. If there is a potential food contamination problem it is massively outweighed by the improvement in ambience that the cats bring to these shops. I would be surprised if customers, in general, objected to them. They are integral to these businesses. I don’t know if a survey has been done in which customers were asked whether they approved or disapproved of Bodega cats. If a survey was done I would expect about 90% to approve.
