https://bodegacatsofnewyork.com/stories/ Stories from New York City's bodega cat archive. en-us Mon, 15 Jun 2026 13:52:10 GMT 60 https://bodegacatsofnewyork.com/stories/francesca-tortie-on-the-route/ https://bodegacatsofnewyork.com/stories/francesca-tortie-on-the-route/ Wed, 03 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Francesca was one of those cats you find because the neighborhood keeps pointing you there. Bodega Cats of New York Wed, 03 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://bodegacatsofnewyork.com/stories/stella-held-like-she-belonged/ https://bodegacatsofnewyork.com/stories/stella-held-like-she-belonged/ Wed, 03 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Stella is one of the archive cats where the photograph carries the story: calm, close, and clearly part of the store. Bodega Cats of New York Wed, 03 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://bodegacatsofnewyork.com/stories/fat-choy-refused-the-archive/ https://bodegacatsofnewyork.com/stories/fat-choy-refused-the-archive/ Wed, 03 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Fat Choy lives mostly as a rumor with paws: everyone knew she was there, but she had her own terms. Bodega Cats of New York Wed, 03 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://bodegacatsofnewyork.com/stories/bodega-cats-as-document-photography/ https://bodegacatsofnewyork.com/stories/bodega-cats-as-document-photography/ Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT Documentary photography makes a record before the record becomes impossible. Beauty is secondary. The evidence comes first. Bodega Cats of New York Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://bodegacatsofnewyork.com/stories/bodega-cats-book-origin-story/ https://bodegacatsofnewyork.com/stories/bodega-cats-book-origin-story/ Mon, 08 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMT What started as a personal iPhone archive became a 240-page photography book from a major publisher. Here's how it happened. Bodega Cats of New York Thu, 26 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://bodegacatsofnewyork.com/stories/ashley-still-runs-the-room/ https://bodegacatsofnewyork.com/stories/ashley-still-runs-the-room/ Thu, 19 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT Ashley was perched behind the counter, framed by lottery tickets, watching the store like she had been waiting for us to catch up. Bodega Cats of New York Thu, 19 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://bodegacatsofnewyork.com/stories/how-a-photography-book-gets-made/ https://bodegacatsofnewyork.com/stories/how-a-photography-book-gets-made/ Tue, 22 Jul 2025 00:00:00 GMT From shooting to final print, the process of making a photography book involves decisions most readers never see — about sequencing, paper weight, and what doesn't make the cut. Bodega Cats of New York Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://bodegacatsofnewyork.com/stories/nancy-named-for-a-grandmother/ https://bodegacatsofnewyork.com/stories/nancy-named-for-a-grandmother/ Wed, 11 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT She judges people with the same gentle disapproval. Customers love her for it. They walk in, get the slow blink, and immediately feel like they are visiting family. Bodega Cats of New York Wed, 11 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://bodegacatsofnewyork.com/stories/lucky-the-new-guy/ https://bodegacatsofnewyork.com/stories/lucky-the-new-guy/ Wed, 23 Apr 2025 00:00:00 GMT A cat named Obama was stolen from a Bushwick bodega. The owner filed a police report. A month later, Lucky walked in. Bodega Cats of New York Sat, 07 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://bodegacatsofnewyork.com/stories/richie-the-receipt-thief/ https://bodegacatsofnewyork.com/stories/richie-the-receipt-thief/ Thu, 17 Apr 2025 00:00:00 GMT The second the receipt prints, he swats it off the counter. The cashier stopped fighting it. They just print duplicates now. Bodega Cats of New York Fri, 06 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://bodegacatsofnewyork.com/stories/klara-narrates-the-store/ https://bodegacatsofnewyork.com/stories/klara-narrates-the-store/ Thu, 05 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT 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. Bodega Cats of New York Thu, 05 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://bodegacatsofnewyork.com/stories/pumpkin-born-on-the-right-day/ https://bodegacatsofnewyork.com/stories/pumpkin-born-on-the-right-day/ Sat, 05 Apr 2025 00:00:00 GMT Born on Halloween. Named for it. Watches customers from the candy shelf like they are on parade. Bodega Cats of New York Thu, 05 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://bodegacatsofnewyork.com/stories/midnight-he-follows-the-owner-home/ https://bodegacatsofnewyork.com/stories/midnight-he-follows-the-owner-home/ Wed, 12 Mar 2025 00:00:00 GMT A customer found him on Petfinder, paid $125, and dropped him off the next day. Now he follows the owner to the car every night. He does not want to go inside. He just wants to walk him there. Bodega Cats of New York Mon, 02 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://bodegacatsofnewyork.com/stories/leena-escorts-customers-to-the-door/ https://bodegacatsofnewyork.com/stories/leena-escorts-customers-to-the-door/ Fri, 30 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT A regular had to move to California. He trusted the bodega more than anyone else he knew in New York. He asked them to take his cat. They did not hesitate. Bodega Cats of New York Fri, 30 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://bodegacatsofnewyork.com/stories/tommy-hells-kitchen/ https://bodegacatsofnewyork.com/stories/tommy-hells-kitchen/ Tue, 11 Feb 2025 00:00:00 GMT One eye is blue. The other is green. Against his solid white coat, the difference is stark. It looks almost artificial. It stops people on the sidewalk. Bodega Cats of New York Wed, 21 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://bodegacatsofnewyork.com/stories/omer-senor-juice-bar/ https://bodegacatsofnewyork.com/stories/omer-senor-juice-bar/ Sat, 26 Oct 2024 00:00:00 GMT It started with Juicy. A calico who walked into his juice bar years ago and sat on top of a produce box. Omer says she brought him luck. Bodega Cats of New York Fri, 26 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT https://bodegacatsofnewyork.com/stories/masha-papelito-williamsburg/ https://bodegacatsofnewyork.com/stories/masha-papelito-williamsburg/ Sun, 20 Oct 2024 00:00:00 GMT Siblings, probably. Carlos thinks so but isn't certain. They came from somewhere else before he started working there. Bodega Cats of New York Fri, 26 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT https://bodegacatsofnewyork.com/stories/why-some-bodega-cats-take-four-weeks-to-photograph/ https://bodegacatsofnewyork.com/stories/why-some-bodega-cats-take-four-weeks-to-photograph/ Mon, 14 Oct 2024 00:00:00 GMT Fat Choy has been running from us for a month. Every time Gulce and I show up at her Chinatown spot, she vanishes. Bodega Cats of New York Thu, 18 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT https://bodegacatsofnewyork.com/stories/the-bodega-cat-who-scratched-a-health-inspector/ https://bodegacatsofnewyork.com/stories/the-bodega-cat-who-scratched-a-health-inspector/ Fri, 20 Sep 2024 00:00:00 GMT The inspector had come through for a routine check. Everything spotless. A-grade clean. As he headed toward the door, he walked past Zorro. She reached up from her radiator perch and swatted his arm. Bodega Cats of New York Sat, 13 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT https://bodegacatsofnewyork.com/stories/jimmy-bodega-cat-2nd-ave/ https://bodegacatsofnewyork.com/stories/jimmy-bodega-cat-2nd-ave/ Thu, 26 Sep 2024 00:00:00 GMT We were on our way somewhere else when we saw him, a giant orange tabby planted in the doorway like he was on duty. He walked straight over, sniffed the camera, brushed my leg, then returned to his spot facing the street. Bodega Cats of New York Sat, 13 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT https://bodegacatsofnewyork.com/stories/the-ones-we-couldnt-photograph/ https://bodegacatsofnewyork.com/stories/the-ones-we-couldnt-photograph/ Wed, 21 Aug 2024 00:00:00 GMT Not every cat made it into the book. Some owners said no. Some cats refused. This is how documentation works. You do not get everything. Bodega Cats of New York Fri, 05 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT https://bodegacatsofnewyork.com/stories/announcing-bodega-cats-of-new-york-the-book/ https://bodegacatsofnewyork.com/stories/announcing-bodega-cats-of-new-york-the-book/ Tue, 16 Jul 2024 00:00:00 GMT A new book that captures the city the way it actually feels. Bodega Cats of New York Wed, 03 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT https://bodegacatsofnewyork.com/stories/why-this-book-took-four-years/ https://bodegacatsofnewyork.com/stories/why-this-book-took-four-years/ Sun, 28 Jul 2024 00:00:00 GMT People assume the hard part of making a photo book is the photography. It's not. The hard part is access. Bodega Cats of New York Wed, 03 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT https://bodegacatsofnewyork.com/stories/meet-gulce-kilkis-photographer/ https://bodegacatsofnewyork.com/stories/meet-gulce-kilkis-photographer/ Sat, 03 Aug 2024 00:00:00 GMT Gulce grew up surrounded by street cats. In Istanbul, they're everywhere. That background is why she was the right photographer for this book. Bodega Cats of New York Wed, 03 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT https://bodegacatsofnewyork.com/stories/zorro-swipe-legend/ https://bodegacatsofnewyork.com/stories/zorro-swipe-legend/ Thu, 11 Apr 2024 00:00:00 GMT Zorro is a tortoiseshell who lives at a Mexican grocer on Avenue A. She sits on the radiator by the front door and watches everyone who comes in. Bodega Cats of New York Tue, 25 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT