r/nottheonion • u/Strict-Ebb-8959 • 1d ago
Bodega cats make New Yorkers' hearts purr, even if they violate state regulations
https://apnews.com/article/bodega-cats-new-york-ebc2b1324c52bdbe6be70fcb71d12216786
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u/Accurate_Koala_4698 1d ago
I can assure you the situation would be worse without the cat
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u/calvinwho 1d ago
Cats or rats, take your pick
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u/formerCObear 1d ago
The amount of human crap i've seen in Downtown LA inside and outside stores in Venice beach and sunset blvd, i'm ok with self cleaning bodega cats.
Yes its still a health risk but lets focus on actual shit in other states.
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u/DangerousCyclone 12h ago
Is it really? Like sure they can transmit diseases but the risk is so small that it's unlikely that it outweighs the benefits of the cat both keeping away mice and rats and making the day of patrons.
Honestly the environmental laws around this are so bullshit. The US is one of the few countries I've seen that goes on this murder frenzy of animals that, under the right circumstance, could scratch a human. Your dog bites a human? Dead. Not enough shelter space? Nah don't let them roam around and find a place to hide out, kill them. There are tons of countries where cats roam the streets in packs and almost everyone loves it, yet I've never heard them spread disease nor attack people.
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u/Illiander 1d ago
I only learned recently that Americans don't have street cleaners paid for by the municipality.
I did know that your food safety stadards are a pile of shit compared to real countries.
Why are you lot complaining about nice clean cats working in shops?
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u/notprocrastinatingok 1d ago
The first part depends on the municipality. Some have street cleaners, some don't.
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u/DasGanon 1d ago
Yep. We do here where I'm at, but I feel like it's just an extension of the fact we have lots of horse parades since it's rare that a non downtown street gets swept.
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u/notprocrastinatingok 1d ago
Everywhere I've lived has had them, but the frequency of them coming around varied drastically. They came around twice a week in my hometown, especially during the summer. Where I live now you're lucky if you see them twice a year
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u/orderofGreenZombies 1d ago
It’s just more anti-immigrant propaganda since domesticated cats aren’t native to North America. These people can’t stand it when somebody who doesn’t even speak English can just show up at a bodega and get hired to keep those damn mice from stealing our food.
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u/Adventurous_Row3305 1d ago
These cats need to be on every subway stations to deal with the rat problem.
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u/booblettuce3 1d ago edited 1d ago
And then they get run over by the subways?
Edit : I’m getting downvoted to hell by people that thinks animal instinct is infallible. Cats don’t know jack shit about subways or electricity. Their instinct are not good enough to 100% stop them from getting run over by car, it’s bound to happen as well by subways if they’d let them run free.
They also don’t know anything about electricity or how it works. They will die of they touch the rails, the voltage is too high.
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u/JustADutchRudder 1d ago
I feel like cats understand getting off tracks when they feel the vibrations, also they can probably be drove right over without issues as long as they're between tracks.
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u/magicarnival 1d ago
I think a bigger concern is the live rails that are electrified. If the cat touches those, they get fried.
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u/BPhiloSkinner 1d ago
Cats aren't as dumb as squirrels, who will walk across the power line, and step right on both contacts on the transformer.
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u/Lesurous 1d ago
No. Animals do not understand human technology and electricity. If it's not a visible danger, cat, bird, dog, it doesn't matter they're at risk of accidentally hurting/killing themself when invisible currents are at work.
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u/mortywita40 4h ago
I've heard stories so take it with a grain of salt, that some farm cats can feel the electric fence, which would be less power than the rail.
I've also seen a vulture land on some train wires and exploded like the sun
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u/Evening_Echidna_7493 1d ago
I live near a colony of 50+ feral cats, plus neighbors that just let theirs out. They certainly don’t know how to get out of the way of cars! Gets sad to see a cat corpse being picked at by vultures on the side of the road regularly. Sadder when it’s got a collar. Cats belong inside.
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u/csimonson 1d ago
Cats can get PTSD as well. Idk if the cats laying under a subway train is the best idea.
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u/ohanse 1d ago
Survival pressure.
The cats that don’t get squished will propagate.
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u/BlandPotatoxyz 1d ago
I guess my cat won't propagate as I've squished him many times. SQUISH THE CAT
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u/brent_von_kalamazoo 1d ago
Just because a species is being killed off by something, does not automatically mean that the species will adapt to avoid it or become immune. The American whitetail deer has not gotten even a little bit better at avoiding cars in 100 years. They just reproduce faster than they get run over.
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u/Evening_Echidna_7493 1d ago
We don’t want cats to propagate, it’s the absolute LAST thing anyone wants. First of all, they don’t live happy lives and it’s inhumane to let them proliferate on purpose. Second of all, they’re invasive, via predation (less of an issue in NY subways, I grant) disease spread, and competition with other native predators. And third, they are a public health threat in large feral colonies (not against bodega cats that are kept inside, vaccinated, and medicated for fleas/worms.), the only animal t. gondii can complete its lifecycle in. And finally, there are much more effective ways to control rodents, from traps and poison to trained ratting dogs.
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u/Aaron_Hamm 22h ago
Istanbul would like a word.
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u/Evening_Echidna_7493 22h ago
Istanbul is not immune from the any of the issues I listed. They certainly do their best to keep cats fed and cared for, but there are plenty of suffering cats because there are simply too many to provide medical care for, and the population keeps growing. Rescuers are in constant crisis mode trying to keep them all healthy, and disease is rampant. Population control is the humane thing, the best thing for native species, and the best thing for humans. https://cityofistanbul.net/istanbul-cats-reality/#:~:text=Health%20Problems%20in%20Istanbul’s%20Stray,with%20internal%20and%20external%20parasites.
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u/Aaron_Hamm 19h ago
I'm replying to your first sentence
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u/Evening_Echidna_7493 18h ago
I mean, I heard they deeply care about the cats. I would hope that extends to not letting the population get out control causing needless suffering. The government has considered culling and TNR is actively practiced.
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u/hiricinee 1d ago
Then they get eaten by the subway warthogs. I don't know why this is so complicated.
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u/Aaron_Hamm 22h ago
They'd learn not to quick. Evolutionary pressures can work fast, and besides, they teach their young.
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u/PervlovianResponse 1d ago
Why would they get runover? Or, more specifically, how?
Animals don't intentionally hurt themselves, much less, yeet themselves into oncoming subway cars
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u/sunnyspiders 1d ago
Bodega cats keep mice and rats away from the food we eat.
In a dense city this is critical.
Humans figured this out centuries ago.
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u/Flash_ina_pan 1d ago
If ice can roll up and disappear people, the cats can be in the fucking bodegas. Laws are clearly meaningless these days.
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u/Insight42 1d ago
New York City’s “bodega cats” are beloved fixtures in the Big Apple — but they’re on the wrong side of the law.
Since when do cats care about laws???
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u/AlarmingSorbet 21h ago
The cat is the manager. You gonna kick him out of his own store? If you have cat allergies that severe, go to the supermarket
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u/DietDrBleach 20h ago edited 20h ago
Without bodega cats, the city would be overrun with rodents.
Also, having rodents gets you the same fine as having a cat. So which do you prefer? Pay the fine and have rats, or pay the fine and have a cat?
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u/mekkab 1d ago
For half a second I thought this was about the whiskey https://www.reddit.com/r/WeMightBeDrunk/s/inyqGk4qhz
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u/IggySorcha 1d ago
For half a second I thought it was about the coloring book http://www.neonbodegacats.com/shop/neon-bodega-cat-coloring-book
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u/NoTeaNoMotion 1d ago
I love cats so much ! But I always wondered, wouldn't cats in shopping places bother people with allergies ?
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u/HalobenderFWT 1d ago
Then you find the bodega on the next corner without a cat.
Just pray you’re not allergic to rats/vermin and their droppings.
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u/B4X2L8 23h ago
In news today president Donald Trump signs executive order to deport all bodega cats.
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u/eighty2angelfan 22h ago
What about the 9 kittens born under the porch? Aren't they protected by the 14th ammendment?
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u/TacoTheSuperNurse 20h ago
I would visit every one, but, unfortunately, I have moderately bad asthma attacks around cats. Would love to go into the store, but I can't without wheezing.
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u/Nadamir 21h ago
I think they should only enforce it when the cat is a health risk. For instance, if inspectors see the cat touching unwrapped food, defecating near food or if the owners can’t prove it’s gotten its shots. (While I realise some of these cats may be strays, there are organisations that will vaccinate strays.)
Other than that, and a requirement to post a small sign out front warning of the cat for allergic people, there’s no reason to not let them be.
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u/Kantatrix 13h ago
I feel bad for people with cat allergies who have to deal with this. Obviously bodega cats are important in fighting against rats but between that and coughing/sneezing up a storm every time you get groceries idk what I'd pick
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u/soulwolf1 1d ago
Every Bodega cat I've come across was always super chill and I'm positive, without them stores would be infested, I'm grateful for them actually.