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If you stop into a corner store in New York City for a quick snack and hear an occasional meow, don’t be alarmed. Bodega cats (also called shop cats) are currently taking the internet by storm and are quickly becoming NYC’s newest tourist attraction.\n<\/p>\n
Daily Paws spoke with Dan Rimada, the founder of Bodega Cats of New York<\/a>, to learn what makes these corner store cats so special and why they need protection.\n<\/p>\n <\/p>\n First, let’s break down the basics: What is a bodega? Bodega is a term for the convenience stores that can be found in every nook and cranny of NYC’s five boroughs. It’s estimated there are more than 10,000 bodegas<\/a> city-wide.\n<\/p>\n “Essentially, a bodega is a small convenience store, and it’s typically independently owned,” says Rimada, a Brooklyn native. “It’s got everything from toilet paper to eye drops to Red Bull, to lottery tickets\u2014all the staples.”\n<\/p>\n In addition to being a convenient one-stop shop, bodegas are a cultural cornerstone of New York, and now their mascots are receiving an influx of attention.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Even though bodega cats have just recently made their way into the public eye, they’ve been around for decades, sometimes even handed down from shop owner to shop owner. These cats might wander into a bodega off the street one day or belong to the shop owner full-time. But regardless of how they ended up at the bodega, they all have a shared purpose.\n<\/p>\n You can always count on prepackaged snacks lining the shelves of your local bodega, but sometimes you can also score made-to-order grub. Unfortunately, food doesn’t attract just humans. Enter bodega cats.\n<\/p>\n Bodega cats are some of the most effective pest control specialists in the tri-state area, helping curb rodent infestations left and right\u2014well, most of the time.\n<\/p>\n What is a Bodega? <\/span> <\/h2>\n
What Does a Bodega Cat Do? <\/span> <\/h2>\n