The Best Seats in the Bodega Are Already Taken

Every bodega cat has a spot.

It is usually warm and close enough to the register to keep track of the room. Once the cat chooses it, customers step around.

Some owners arrange a bed. Other spots become permanent because the cat keeps coming back.

Tiger's window

Chiku turned the front window of his Williamsburg bodega into a small room for Tiger. There is a gray bed, a purple toy mouse, a couple of plants, and a little orange tiger figurine sitting behind him.

People see Tiger from the sidewalk and slow down. Some come inside to pet him before going back to whatever they were doing.

Pumpkin, Chiku's other cat down the street, has the candy shelf. Tiger has the window.

Simba in the aisle

Simba chooses the middle of the aisle.

He is a large cat in a narrow Bed-Stuy store where the inventory is stacked high and there is barely room for two people to pass. Once he settles in, customers change their route.

If he lies on a delivery, the boxes stay where they are until he gets up.

Layla's cat tree

Layla spends most of her day on a cat tree by the front window of a Financial District bodega. Her eyes look almost white in certain light, and people stop outside to check whether she is there.

When the store needed a new floor, the owner pointed at Layla and told the contractor, "Make it look like her."

The floor is close to the color of her coat. Customers bring her toys and treats, and the store keeps them on a shelf near her window.

Photos: Gulce Kilkis / Bodega Cats of New York.

Bodega Cats of New York is available for preorder and publishes November 3, 2026.