Tiger

Tiger's spot is the front window.

Chiku has made the ledge feel less like a piece of store furniture and more like a small room for one cat. There is a gray bed, a purple toy mouse, a couple of plants, and a small orange tiger figurine set behind him, facing the same glass.

Tiger's window, Williamsburg. Photos: Gulce Kilkis / Bodega Cats of New York

Tiger works out of a bodega in Williamsburg. He is the Scottish fold with the round face, folded ears, and a look like he has already heard your question and decided not to answer it.

During a news shoot with Tiger, people kept slowing down at the window. Customers came in from the sidewalk, saw him, and took a minute before going back to whatever they were doing.

Chiku describes him the same way. Tiger sits there, takes pets, lives for rubs, and lets the store move around him. He looks like he owns the place because everyone treats him like he does.

Chiku brought Tiger in because there were mice. The store still needed exterminators, while Tiger became the cat people came in to see through the front window.

Tiger inside the store, Williamsburg. Photos: Gulce Kilkis / Bodega Cats of New York

When we filmed him, Chiku joked that Tiger keeps an eye on the store. In the morning, he would find Tiger sitting there like he had been on night management, checking that everything was okay.

Pumpkin, the other cat on the account, is down the street at Berry. Same owner, different store, and a different routine. Pumpkin has the candy shelf. Tiger has the window.

People talk about them together without mixing them up. Each cat has settled into a different corner of the neighborhood, and regulars know which one belongs to which store.