New York's beloved bodega cats bring a sense of calm to the hectic city

NEW YORK – In Brooklyn’s Crown Heights neighborhood, brothers Nader and Nasser Zeidan stood behind the counter of their bodega, snapping photos of the cat that calls the shop home.

“Everybody loves him,” said Nasser Zeidan, pointing to a photo of a fat, gray and white cat named Thumbs. “A Jewish kid, a black kid, an Arab kid, a Hindu kid — everybody loves cats, they’re the best pet you could ever have.”

Thumbs belongs to a special group of feline friends who can be found sleeping and supposedly hunting mice in many of the Big Apple’s signature corner stores. They’re called bodega cats, and they’ve become neighborhood staples and amassed massive social media followings.

Bodega cats have proliferated because New York City has such a large population of stray cats that it has led to the animals infiltrating commercial buildings in addition to being pets in private homes, according to rescue advocates.

“There are so many cats that they basically populate every available place, including the corner store,” said Will Zweigart, who runs Flatbush Cats, a nonprofit rescue organization in downtown Brooklyn.

Sometimes bodega staff will adopt a kitten from a litter that needs homes. Such was the case with Gracie, known as the “queen” of Myers of Keswick, a British specialty food store in the West Village. Gracie came to the store through a kitchen staff member’s cat litter, said store owner Jenny Myers.

The 2-year-old cat begs for chicken-flavored treats, likes to hide under the kitchen sink, and customers love her because she’s “a living part of the store,” Myers said.

In Crown Heights, Thumbs — named for his polydactyl fingers — is the latest in a line of cats to live at Grocery Inc. 1-Stop since the 1970s. The cat is 12 years old, loves people and hates dogs, said Nasser Zeidan.

“He’s friendly,” said Nasser Zeidan, 50. “I don’t see any mice, so you know it’s doing its job.”

Cats bring a sense of calm to the hectic city

New York City’s neighborhoods are dotted with bodegas, also called delis or corner stores, and they’re convenient and heavy-duty places to pick up items like gum, cigarettes, and lottery tickets.

Seeing a cat in a New York bodega takes the customer experience to a new level because it feels like receiving a surprise gift.

“When you see something that you have fond memories of when you least expect it, that’s a big part,” said Rob Hitt, who runs the popular Bodega Cats Instagram account.

Historically kept to hunt mice, these days cats are better known for their sleeping abilities and are commonly photographed snoozing on store shelves, nestled among bags of crisps and juice.

At Grocery Inc. 1-Stop in Crown Heights, Thumbs didn’t even make an appearance on a recent August evening because he had just been fed dinner and was fast asleep, holed up in an upstairs office, said Nasser Zeidan, delighted.

Sleepy kitties like Thumbs allow busy New Yorkers a special moment of peace in a busy, noisy city, said Dan Rimada, who runs the Bodega Cats of New York Instagram account.

“They’ve become little Zen masters for New Yorkers and give us a reason to pause in the middle of our super busy lives,” Rimada said.

Seeing a familiar furry face in the nation’s largest and most densely populated city is also comforting, Hitt said.

“It’s that familiarity that makes you feel close to the community,” Hitt said.

NYC also has a cat population problem

Beyond New York City, bodega cats are part of communities in San Francisco and dot the streets of Istanbul, Turkey. In all three cities, cats are often taken off the streets because of a lack of spay and neuter programs, Zweigart said.

There are no precise estimates of the number of stray cats in New York, but Flatbush Cats and other groups have said that by 2023 there could be as many as 500,000.

“It’s great to be excited about bodega cats, maybe you have a favorite at your corner store,” Zweigart said. “But if you see a cat in a bodega, it’s a reflection of this overpopulation crisis.”

Rimada, a lifelong New Yorker, said he estimates that up to 30 percent of the city’s bodegas are home to a cat. Crown Heights and nearby Flatbush neighborhoods have some of the highest concentrations of bodega cats, according to surveys by the nonprofit Zweigart.

Myers said some bodega cats in the city are not receiving proper veterinary care. Gracie is spayed, Myers said, and an employee of a convenience store in New Jersey brings the cat home with her once a year to see a local vet.

“They definitely need to be up to date on vaccines, they’re like part of the family,” Myers, 46, said. “You wouldn’t let your child miss a doctor’s appointment.”

Before Thumbs became the resident cat at Grocery Inc. 1-Stop on Utica Avenue in Brooklyn, the Zeidan brothers had another cat, but it ran away after just three years, probably because it wasn’t spayed, they said. Without neutering, male cats are more likely to wander away from home, according to the Humane Society of the United States.

Nasser Zeidan said he made sure Thumbs had the procedure and as a result “stayed”.

“We love him,” Zeidan said. “We take care of them, and they take care of us.”

New York’s beloved bodega cats bring a sense of calm to the hectic city

Cats bring a sense of calm to the hectic city

NYC also has a cat population problem

By Matthew. Jr

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New York’s beloved bodega cats bring a sense of calm to the hectic city

Cats bring a sense of calm to the hectic city

NYC also has a cat population problem

By Matthew. Jr

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