01 · Step 1 · Start here
Contact your City Council Member
This is the single most useful thing you can do today. Ask where they stand on Int. 0830 and whether they will support it moving forward.
Contact your Council Member →Advocacy: Public Record
Bodega Cats Need Standards
The petition, the bills, and the fundraiser behind BCNY. The goal is simple: bring the cats out of the legal gray area so care, rescue support, and accountability can exist.
- 13,500+
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- $7,442
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Int. 0830-2026 and A08341
Current Status
The campaign is active. Both bills need public support.
Bodega cats still have no clear legal protection in New York. Under current rules they can be cited as a health violation, and there is no practical compliance path that separates a well cared-for cat from a neglected one.
City bill
Int. 0830-2026: in Committee on Health. No hearing scheduled.
State bill
A08341: re-referred to Assembly Agriculture. No Senate companion.
Why standards matter
Legal recognition is only one part of the work.
Bodega cats do not all live the same life. Some are deeply loved and well cared for. Others need basic veterinary care, spay/neuter support, safer housing, or rescue intervention. The campaign has to hold both realities at once: real community care, and practical standards that make life safer for the cats themselves.
Action
Take Action
Three things help most: contact your City Council Member, contact your state legislators, and share the petition.
02 · Step 2
Contact your state legislators
Ask your Assembly Member and State Senator where they stand on A. 8341 and humane standards for bodega cats.
Contact state lawmakers →03 · Step 3
Share the petition
The petition is still the clearest public record of support. Sharing it keeps the numbers moving.
Sign the Petition →Legislation
The Bills
The city bill and the state bill do different jobs. The city bill is about official recognition and local enforcement. The state bill is about the first standards of care.
Status as ofJune 11, 2026
City · In Committee on Health
City bill
Int. 0830-2026
Official recognition
What this bill does
Stops NYC agencies from treating bodega cats as an automatic health-code violation, and funds free vaccinations and spay/neuter.
The city bill is the first time New York City has created a local path for cats in retail food stores. It addresses local enforcement so city agencies do not treat every bodega cat as an automatic violation.
It also creates practical support for responsible care, including voluntary vaccination and spay/neuter access. City action matters, but city law alone does not settle a question that also touches state rules and health-code interpretation.
Lead sponsor: Council Member Frank Morano.
Co-sponsor: Virginia Maloney.
History: The original 2025 bill was Int. 1471, filed by Council Member Keith Powers before the end of that Council session.
No hearing scheduled.
State · Re-referred to Agriculture
State bill
A. 8341
First care standards
What this bill does
Sets the first statewide standards for how bodega cats must be cared for: vet care, vaccines, spay/neuter, food, water, and sanitation.
The state bill would set up the first statewide standards of care for cats in retail food stores: veterinary care, vaccination, spay/neuter, proper nutrition and water, sanitary conditions, and separation from food preparation or storage areas where required.
The goal is to separate responsible care from neglect.
Sponsor: Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal.
Status: Re-referred to the Assembly Agriculture Committee on January 7, 2026.
No Senate companion bill yet.
Why both matter
One bill addresses local enforcement at the city level. The other defines responsible care at the state level. Without both, the rules stay blunt and inconsistent.
Why It Matters
Why bodega cats
Bodega cats are part of neighborhood life in New York. The campaign is about matching that reality with clearer standards, better care, and a legal path store owners can actually understand.
Pest control
Rodent pressure is part of the reality
Bodegas operate near subway lines, restaurants, and trash routes. Cats are already part of how many stores respond to that pressure. The question is whether the cats have standards and care.
Food safety
Food safety needs a real framework
Stores are already balancing rodent pressure, inspections, and animal care. A legal path can make those responsibilities clearer.
Neighborhood culture
Regulars know the block's cat by name
Plenty of regulars learn the cat's name before the owner's. On a lot of blocks, the cat is a fixture people stop in to check on.
Legal gray area
No clear standard, inconsistent enforcement
State rules prohibit live animals in retail food stores, and inspectors enforce that rule inconsistently. Cats, stores, and rescue partners are left without standards or protection.
Real help for bodega cats, right now.
Bills take time. The cats need help now. Lesure donated 10 self-cleaning litter boxes and 10 cat beds to bodega cats across the city.
See the Lesure partnershipPublic Questions
Real questions about bodega cats
The debate usually comes down to legality, food safety, animal care, and what supporters can actually do next.
Are bodega cats legal in New York City?
Not clearly. City and state rules still leave store owners without a simple legal path. Int. 0830 would stop NYC agencies from treating a cat in a retail food store as an automatic local violation, but state action is still needed.
What does Int. 0830 actually do?
The city bill would override the local prohibition on cats in retail food stores. It would also create voluntary, no-cost vaccination and spay/neuter programs, plus outreach so store owners know how to use them.
What does A. 8341 add at the state level?
The state bill would create health and safety guidelines for cats living in retail food stores. That includes regular veterinary care, vaccinations, spay/neuter, food, water, clean conditions, and safe cat zones away from food preparation and storage areas.
Is this safe for food stores?
Safety depends on clear standards. Vaccination records, sanitation rules, accountability, and humane care make enforcement more useful than an informal system with no practical path for stores.
Do bodega cats actually help with rodents?
They are part of why many owners keep them. Cats catch mice, deter some rodent activity, and live in the store full time. The law should recognize that reality while still requiring humane care and store cleanliness.
Can customers pet, feed, or photograph a bodega cat?
Ask the owner first. Do not feed the cat, pick it up, chase it, or use flash in its face. Some bodega cats are social. Others are working animals that want to be left alone.
What is the most useful thing supporters can do?
Contact your City Council Member about Int. 0830, contact your state legislators about A. 8341, and sign the petition so public support stays visible.
Useful next move
If someone asks whether bodega cats should be legal, send them here first. Then ask them to contact their City Council Member and their state legislators.
See how to help →The Stories
How We Got Here
Documenting the cats turned into a public record lawmakers could point to.
That record grew into a petition, a fundraiser, press coverage, and the first city and state bills written to protect bodega cats.
- January 28, 2025
Petition launches
We asked New York City to create a voluntary certification program for bodega cats, with legal recognition, vaccination requirements, and responsible care standards. That petition became the public record lawmakers could point to.
Read the petition → - March 2025
First press wave
The petition hit 6,600 signatures. Coverage followed from ABC7 New York, News 12 Brooklyn, Gothamist, New York Post, and Yahoo.
- April 20, 2025
Fundraiser launches
The Bodega Cat Collective, a coalition of Instagram accounts with 1.7 million combined followers, launched the Bodega Cat Fundraiser for emergency vet visits, vaccines, spay/neuter services, and rescue support. Sponsors included Smalls, Arm & Hammer Cat Litter, Bodega Cat Whiskey, and Pad Home Pet Services.
View the fundraiser → - April 24-25, 2025
NPR national feature
NPR aired a feature story on Morning Edition and All Things Considered. The segment reached affiliates across the country, from Boston to Seattle.
Listen to the segment →
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