Only in New York...

[brooklynite]

Ask A Native New Yorker: Can I Tell The Bodega Cat To Beat It?

Dear Jake:

I recently moved to Harlem in the 150s, and, as you might expect, there aren't that many places to grab groceries/sandwiches/beer/anything in my neighborhood that aren't bodegas.

Here's the problem: the four closest places in the area, including the one right at my corner, have cats, and their hair gets everywhere. I'm allergic to cats, and this makes grabbing a bag of chips and a 24-ounce Coors Banquet a miserable experience for me. I start sneezing, wheezing, and itching all over whenever I pop in.

The closest bodega I have found that doesn't have a cat in it is 6 blocks away from me. I understand from the internet that bodega cats are sort of a treasured little oddity in New York, but I don't understand why they're tolerated when they're definitely illegal and send people with cat allergies—there are a lot of us—into a state of misery.

What's the right way to tell the owner of the bodega on my block that I'd prefer it if I didn't keep it around? Or should I just keep my gentrifying mouth shut?

Sincerely,

Harlem Cat Hater

Dear HCH:

Sure, just walk in and explain yourself: "Hello, shopkeep! I am new in the neighborhood, and I was simply wondering if you'd be willing to evict your beloved deli cat, as its presence offends my delicate sinuses. Now would you please point me towards your kale aisle?"

https://gothamist.com/news/ask-a-native-new-yorker-can-i-tell-the-bodega-cat-to-beat-it

[Walleye]

1. Without bodega cats that would be a lot of bodega mice

[marybourg]

5. Rats!

[Renew Deal]

11. This is correct

They aren’t just nice to look at. They are efficient pest control.

[NoMoreRepugs]

2. Antihistamines are aisle 4 buttwipe.

[a kennedy]

3. Oh my gosh........I absolutely love this cat....🥰 🥰 🥰

[Demovictory9]

15. me too

[Doremus]

4. We had a shop kitty for many years.

I can count on one hand the number of people who objected to her presence. If they were polite in requesting that I keep the cat away from them I usually took it as an opportunity to shower her with affection while the customer browsed. Not surprisingly, many of the cat haters were nasty and my pat line was "this is her home and you're free to leave."

99% of our customers loved her and came in often just to see her. If the person in the OP asked me for advice I'd suggest they visit an allergist and start treatment if going to bodegas is important to them.

[Binkie The Clown]

6. Speaking as someone from the west coast, what the hell does "bodega" mean? Never heard the word.

[brooklynite]

7. A small convenience/grocery store...

Think "7-Eleven" without slurpees...and with a cat.

[Binkie The Clown]

8. I could glean that from the context, but after 75 years it's unusual to hear a word that's new to me

[brooklynite]

9. The word is Spanish, and they derive from stores in Hispanic neighborhoods.

[Retrograde]

13. Tienda/tiendita are more common words out here

Bodega seems to be more a Caribbean Spanish word than a Mexican one: all I know is that even with a Mexican-American population of 30% or more in places around here I don't think I've ever come across a place called a bodega.

[smirkymonkey]

16. That's odd, because I think the first time I heard the word was when I was out in San Francisco.

There is such a heavy latin influence out there, I just assumed that they were called bodegas throughout the west coast.

They were also called that in NYC, but it's not something I really hear much here in Boston. Usually they just call it a mini-market or something like that.

[Renew Deal]

10. Here's an idea. Move back to Dallas, Francis.

When you go back and people ask what happened, tell them “I can’t make it there.”

[electric_blue68]

12. snort! 😂

(born & bred NYC'r) 👍😁

[choie]

14. order from Amazon

and leave the cats alone.

[smirkymonkey]

17. They do seem pretty unsanitary, especially if there is a deli, however I would prefer them to rats

or mice, or even cockroaches. Ugh, in some ways, I don't miss NYC at all.

[brooklynite]

18. Have you SEEN how often a cats cleans him/herself?

[smirkymonkey]

19. Yeah, sorry. That's not my idea of "cleaning".

Giving itself a tounge bath. Ugh

[Lancero]

20. In regards to health concerns, cats are the top vector for Toxoplasmosis transmission to humans.

https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/toxoplasmosis/resources/printresources/catowners_2017.pdf

So long as the bodega owners ensure their shop cats are free of this parasite, I don't really have any major complaints about them running around. Otherwise, the cat sounds like a walking health code violation.