Bodega cats make great pictures

Admittedly the photographers are pretty good but Bodega cats make great cat pictures. Why is this? Firstly, they are working cats. People like to see domestic cat earning their living sometimes. It makes them more useful. They are doing more than just entertaining and keeping a person company. Working cats are an asset and Bodega cats keep down the mice and rodent population in these corner shops of which there are about 10,000 in New York City.

Bodega cat insists on equal rights to human customers. Photo: Facebook

Although the authority in New York City which is charged with standards of  health and hygiene object mildly to their presence because they present a potential for food contamination. But I do not think that people care that much and it seems that the law is unenforced. There is a fine apparently of $300 but as I understand that there is an equal fine for the presence of rats and rodents in stores. Net result: the cats stay.

And I am sure that customers like them, at least in general. If you did a survey on whether customers liked or objected to Bodega cats I believe that you would have a 90% approval rating. They add soul to a place as a well-known author said. I am convinced that they help increase sales.

Bodega cat insists on staying on the vegetable and fruit scales. Photo: Facebook

Personally, I love them. I am a great fan and I believe in cats living in shops, libraries, storage facilities and any other suitable place where there is somebody who can take care of them. And I do not believe that there is a genuine hygiene problem. Cats live in millions of homes and they eat their food in the kitchen where there is human food. Nobody complains about food contamination inside a home.

Tortie among the tortilla chips. Photo: Facebook.

And the danger from toxoplasmosis is highly exaggerated in my view. It can be ignored. I have ignored it all my life. If you are risk-averse, female and are about to become pregnant then all you have to do is take precautions with the cat litter. Far more infections of toxoplasmosis occur because people don't wash the vegetables properly or don't cook meat properly. Direct contagion from domestic cat poop is low down on the scale. There are more important things to worry about in terms of contagious diseases.

What are Bodega Cats?

Bodega cats are store cats. They live in and around a corner store or deli or Hispanic/Spanish/Latin mini-mart in New York. They will normally be rescue cats; either rescued from the street where the store is or from a rescue centre. The term "bodega" appears to be exclusively used in New York City.

These are typical corner stores. Run independently and selling all manner of products from wine to delicatessen products. These are the sorts of shops we see all over the world. Not all of them have a live-in cat. That's obvious. The bodega cat is a very nice addition to the store. They go together nicely. It looks natural to me. And they serve a function beyond keeping the shop owner company. They keep the mice away.

In less well developed countries you could argue that the default situation regarding the domestic cat is the store cat or community cat. This is closer to the original relationship between man and cat: the barn cat keeping down rodents.

The term "bodega" comes from Spanish to mean a wine shop. The meaning has been expanded to include a mini-mart although in these stores wine, beers and spirits are an important part of the stock.

The cat in the picture is Snowball. A beautiful white bodega cat in NYC.