Jimmy

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. Same tile. Same posture. Like he had a shift to finish.

The owner was behind the counter filling orders. He watched us watching Jimmy.

"You want to photograph him? Go ahead."

I told him we were working on a book. He nodded like that explained everything.

"He gets me business every day," he said.

"How much?"

"Three hundred, four hundred dollars. Sometimes more. People come for him, then they buy something. He sits right there."

He pointed at the doorway.

"People follow him inside."

While we were there, it kept happening. Someone slowed down at the doorway and smiled before they even looked at the shelves. Another person crouched to say hello like it was part of their routine.

Jimmy had toys in the shop, but the doorway was the job. He knew the place the way a worker knows a route. The 3 a.m. close. The 5 a.m. open. The morning guy. The regulars. The little rotations between his spots.

The owner leaned in and told me he put a tracker on Jimmy.

"Not because he gets lost," he said. "Because he's too friendly. People fall in love with him."

A UPS driver walked in and immediately knelt down in front of Jimmy. Not in a hurry. Not passing through. He pulled out his phone and started showing Jimmy photos of other cats on his route. He had a whole collection.

He was not there for packages. He was there for Jimmy.

The owner watched this and laughed.

"The reason I love cats," he said, "is because when I was young, they taught me everything I know about sales."

He said this completely seriously.

"You have to go to them," he continued. "You earn their trust. If you don't do it right, they leave and find someone else. Then you start over."

He paused.

"That's sales."

I asked about mice.

He shrugged. "People say we keep a cat for mice. Sure. But really, I catch the mice. Jimmy's my advertisement."

Jimmy came over once more while we were packing up. He brushed against us, then went back to the doorway and resumed his position, watching the sidewalk.

Bodega Cats of New York comes out this fall.