Omish

Omish was our first shoot.

We had an idea, a camera, and a list of locations people had sent us. But we had never actually done it. We had never walked into a bodega, asked permission, and tried to photograph a cat who had no obligation to cooperate.

He is an orange tabby in Park Slope. He has grown into the role over four years. When we arrived, he was on the counter, watching us the way bodega cats watch everyone: calm, skeptical, waiting to see what we wanted.

The neighborhood guys were already there. Regulars. They stood around watching us work, waiting to see if the cat would actually pose.

He did.

Omish sat on the counter, completely unbothered by the chaos. Gulce moved around him, adjusting angles, getting close, pulling back. He did not flinch. He did not leave. He sat there like he understood exactly what was happening and had decided to allow it.

Bodega cats are not performing for anyone. They are not trained. They do not care about cameras or books or Instagram accounts. Omish sat there anyway.

Omish let us.

The regulars watched the whole thing. A few of them commented. A few laughed. One guy asked what we were doing and nodded when we explained. "Yeah," he said. "That's Omish."

That is how it works in these stores. The cat is known. The cat has a name. People step around him the way they step around a crate that is always in the same spot.

We got the shots. We thanked the owner. We left.

Walking out, I remember thinking: this is going to take years. Every store is different. Every owner has a different level of trust. Every cat has a different tolerance for strangers with cameras. Some will cooperate. Some will hide. Some will swat. But Omish cooperated, and that meant at least some of them would.

Four years later, we have documented well over a hundred bodega cats across all five boroughs. We have been turned away, chased out, and politely declined more times than I can count. But we have also been welcomed, offered tea, shown baby pictures of cats, and told stories that would never fit in a caption.

It started with Omish.

He is still there. Still on that counter. Still unbothered.