Cats Chilling In Corner Shops Totally Act Like They Own The Place
Wherever a cat goes, it stands to reason that the cat is in charge. Now, imagine you go into your local corner shop for a quick snack and see a local cat that figured out that bodegas are also nice and convenient.
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They are warm, have many places to hide, and human company if the cats want it, and only when they want it. People don’t mind cats in stores – actually most of them like seeing them because they are viewed as clean animals, and they also help in pest control.
Ah yes, we forgot to mention that they are sooooo fluffy, cute, and gorgeous. So it’s some sort of “all in one “package.
The social media project called Bodega Cats is all about these corner shop cats, and It has an adorable collection of cats-in-shops photos.
1. This cat is observing.
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There are more than 10,000 bodegas in NYC alone. Although corner shop cats are lovely to see, it's still not legal to keep them around edible products. Penalties for keeping a feline in a convenience store start at $200 but can reach $2,000 for repeat lawbreakers. (the store owners, not the cats).
The person behind the Bodega Cats project is called Rob. He currently has more than 422k followers on Twitter, 279k fans on Instagram, and more than 16k supporters on Facebook.
Rob believes that every cat is unique and how it will act in a bodega when customers come in will entirely depend on each specific feline. "Cats will just be cats in terms of Bodega Cats vs. House Cats. They all have their own personalities. Feral cats, on the other hand, aren't conditioned to seek out human interaction so they act more secluded."
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4.This kitty is napping.
Rob says that he's been staying inside more than usual because of the lockdowns and working from home, "So like all of us I'm stuck inside missing the cats alongside many of us."
He managed to put his social accounts' popularity to good use. He stated that the Bodega Cats account is constantly growing and that he made partnerships with several organizations dedicated to raising awareness around regulating the feline population humanely. "In some cases, like with Greenpoint Cats, they'll work with bodega owners to help get their cats fixed (spayed and neutered)."
Rob also said that he uses social media and contributions from the webstore sales to help other organizations like Greenpoint Cats, Flatbush Cats, and The Original TrapKing. "Check out and support these wonderful organizations," he concluded.
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7. Can this cat count change?
Rob got the idea for the Bodega Cats project back in 2012. He was out late one night in New York, went into a corner shop, noticed a cat, and shared it on Instagram.
"My friends enjoyed the photos of the cats I posted more than the photos of me! At that point, I decided to start the Bodega Cats accounts in hopes of giving people a moment of positivity and smile throughout their day."
"Now, I'd say we get about 75-100 submissions a week. I really don't think too much about picking the photos other than if they invoke some sort of emotion in me. It never hurts to select a kitten, a cat on top of a bag potato chips, or one protecting a nice warm ATM machine."
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Rob thinks that the pictures shared on the Bodega Cats social media accounts induce positive emotions, and they became popular because people like seeing something common in an uncommon way.
"If you have a cat and then see one out, it brings back that warm feeling of home. I also feel people are excited because they know to date, we've been able to utilize the money from the sales in our webstore towards helping organizations that help the feral, community, or bodega cat population.
We've also been able to find other effective ways of helping by donating social posts (tweets, stories, feed posts, etc.) which can help raise awareness for positive organizations."