Bodega cat

A bodega cat in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, New York City
A bodega cat in Hudson Square, Manhattan, New York City

A bodega cat (also referred to as a deli cat, store cat, shop cat, the manager or the boss) is a type of working cat that inhabits a bodega, which in New York City English refers to a convenience store or deli.[1][2] Like other working cats, a bodega cat is typically a domestic shorthair kept as a form of biological pest control to manage or prevent rodent infestations.[3]

A bodega cat may be a domesticated cat that is kept by the bodega owner, or a semi-feral cat that the bodega owner attracts to the store through regular feeding. Public health departments typically prohibit bodega cats under food codes that ban live animals from establishments where consumable goods are sold.[1]

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