Jimmy
“Jimmy sits in the doorway like he's on the lease. People come in to see him, then remember they need a drink. He does the whole job without moving.”
The Book
The Book
A 240-page hardcover about the cats who hold down New York's bodegas, with photography by Gulce Kilkis. Out this fall from Quarto.
Cover reveal
Coming soon
Epic Ink Books / Quarto Publishing · this fall
Four years of bodegas, owners, workers, regulars, and cats who only came out when they felt like it.
- this fall
- Dan Rimada
- Gulce Kilkis
- Epic Ink Books / Quarto Publishing
- Hardcover coffee table book
- 240 pages
- 9 × 11 inches
The work came first
The book came out of store visits.
The cats were already there. The stores were already there. What changed was the amount of time spent asking who the cat was, where they came from, and what the regulars knew.
Some sleep on the lottery tickets. Some watch the door. One won't come down from the ceiling until he's ready. The book holds those details in one place, and the archive keeps growing after it.
Praise
Early readers, on the book.
“There are a lot of things that come to mind when you think of New York City, but bodegas—and the cats that live in them—are one of the iconic parts of our city. I introduced the bill to legalize our beloved bodega cats because of the indispensable role they play in stores, and because they are the embodiment of New York City—which this book artfully explores.”
Keith PowersNYC Council Member · Sponsor of the Bodega Cat Bill
“A street-level look at New York that most people walk right past. Rimada captures the soul of the corner store and the cats who call it home.”
Joe Conzo Jr.Photographer · "The Man Who Took Hip Hop's Baby Pictures"
“Growing up in my dad's bodega in the 90s, our cat was merely a worker. Fast forward 25+ years, and they've not only been promoted to store manager, but also to the bodega's official mascot. People like Dan aren't just customers who stop to pet and acknowledge them. They've given these cats a platform for rightful appreciation and, more importantly, protection.”
Kel MurphyFilmmaker · Director of La Bodega Sells Dreams
“New York City is the world's melting pot, and the place where it all happens is the bodega. It is a safe space built into your neighborhood's corner to provide warmth, a hot meal, and the most perfect part of New York City culture—THE bodega cat. Daniel Rimada has captured the soul of these spaces perfectly.”
MichelladonnaActor · Host of Mad Realities' Shop Cats
Why This Book Exists
These cats have been part of New York for years. The book is a way of saying they were here, they had names, and people knew them.
120 photographs · 60 stories · 5 boroughs · 4 years
Inside the book
Photographs
Cats in the places they actually choose: the doorway, the chip aisle, the ATM, the cardboard box behind the register. Photographed by Gulce Kilkis across all five boroughs.
Stories
First-person accounts of the cats, the bodegas, and the people who keep them running. Ruben's cat swatted a health inspector, who left without writing a citation. Melissa cried in the aisle when Zozo vanished into the ceiling. Muhammad explains why the workers need Delilah.
The people
The families who built their lives around these bodegas. The workers who know exactly when the cat needs space. The regulars who visit the cat more than they visit the owner.
Stories from the book
A few of the cats, bodegas, and stories that shape the book.
Zorro
“The health inspector checked everything and gave the store an A. On the way out, Zorro reached down from the radiator and swatted the inspector's arm. He looked at the owner, looked at the cat, nodded, and walked out. No citation.”
Zozo
“Melissa wasn't a cat person until Zozo. That changed the morning he vanished into the ceiling. She spent an hour crying in the aisle, frantic, until the pizza guy pointed up. Now she protects him like a guard dog.”
Popular stories readers are finding now.
Oreo: The Cat with Thumbs
His paws stopped me cold. Massive, with extra toes that looked like thumbs. Polydactyl. While Gulce shot, we watched Oreo grip the counter edge, anchoring himself when someone reached down to pet him.
Why Some Bodega Cats Take Four Weeks to Photograph
Fat Choy has been running from us for a month. Every time Gulce and I show up at her Chinatown spot, she vanishes.
Klara: She Reports on Everyone
A vocal tortie in Park Slope who narrates the store. When a regular walks in, she announces it. When someone is taking too long in the chip aisle, she comments.
Leena: She Escorts Certain Customers to the Door
A regular had to move to California and asked the store to take Leena. Now she waits near the York Avenue door and walks certain customers out.
Ashley: Still Running the Room
Ashley was perched behind the counter, framed by lottery tickets, watching the store like she had been waiting for us to catch up.
Preview photos
How the book was made
Most shoots started the same way: walk in, explain the work, ask permission, and hope the cat was in the mood. Some owners said yes right away. Some needed time. Some cats disappeared into shelves, ceilings, basements, or boxes until they decided we were allowed to see them.
About the creators
Dan Rimada
Dan writes the stories behind Bodega Cats of New York. Since 2022, he has been visiting bodegas across all five boroughs, usually by asking one owner who else has a cat and walking there. In 2025 he organized the petition that helped put two bills in committee. He lives in Brooklyn with Cocoa and Charles, who are not bodega cats and want it noted.
Gulce Kilkis
Gulce is the lead photographer for the book. She grew up in Istanbul, where street cats sprawl on stoops and weave through markets, and brought that same eye to New York's bodegas. With over a decade on film and TV sets, she works candidly: no posing, no treats, just the patience to wait for the unposed moment. She still shoots street cats back home in Turkey at @turkish_street_cats.
Pre-order opens 2026
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