{"id":377064,"date":"2025-11-14T00:00:48","date_gmt":"2025-11-14T00:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/377064\/"},"modified":"2025-11-14T00:00:48","modified_gmt":"2025-11-14T00:00:48","slug":"nyc-council-pushes-to-legalize-bodega-cats-giving-them-purr-fect-legal-status","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/377064\/","title":{"rendered":"NYC Council pushes to legalize bodega cats, giving them \u2018purr-fect\u2019 legal status"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"Bodega\t\t\t<\/p>\n

A Brooklyn bodega cat watches the world go by, probably judging it accordingly.<\/p>\n

Photo by Dean Moses<\/p>\n

The latest bill in the NYC Council<\/a> is the cat\u2019s meow.\n<\/p>\n

Council Member Keith Powers, who represents Manhattan\u2019s East Side and Midtown, introduced on Wednesday a bill that, if enacted, would legalize bodega cats in NYC<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But the legislation would do more than just update city health codes to officially allow the feline friends in the neighborhood\u2019s food shops. It would also establish a free vaccination program for cats registered as feral cats.<\/p>\n

Under the bill, Intro. 1471<\/a>, the city would cover vaccines as part of a free vaccination program, as well as spay and neuter services for bodega cats, Powers said.<\/p>\n

\"blackLuna, a Staten Island bodega cat, enjoys a pet.Photo by Bodega Cats of New York<\/p>\n

As cute as bodega cats are, they also serve a practical purpose by keeping out unwanted guests, such as mice and rats.<\/p>\n

\u201cBodega cats embody the New York spirit: friendly, welcoming, and anti-rat,\u201d said Powers, who is term-limited and leaving office at the end of 2025. \u201cI\u2019m proud that my legislation will codify them into city law and provide resources to keep them healthy. It\u2019s time to remove the legal limbo that our furry friends have been living under for far too long and legalize them once and for all.\u201d<\/p>\n

And they are also a puuuur-fect part of the Big Apple\u2019s charm and character, Powers explained.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are a lot of things that come to mind when you think of New York City, but bodegas, and the cats that live in them, are one of the iconic parts of our city,\u201d the council member said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"aThis fluffy feline is a cool corner store cat.Photo by Bodega Cats of New York<\/p>\n

Bodega cats are so beloved that\u00a0their human friends have launched a\u00a0petition<\/a> this year to provide veterinary care for some of these adorable felines.<\/p>\n

Led by Dan Rimada, founder of the advocacy group Bodega Cats of New York, organizers pressed the council not only to grant legal status to these essential cats but also to support voluntary partnerships with local rescues and veterinary clinics to help provide affordable veterinary care.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a huge moment for bodega cats and the people who love them,\u201d Rimada said. \u201cThese cats have always worked quietly behind the counter\u2014now they\u2019re finally getting the recognition and protection they deserve. I\u2019m proud to be part of this step forward for New York City.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The cat lover added that it is important for shop owners to spay and neuter their feline storekeepers to help control the feral and stray cat populations in NYC.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the most important parts of the bill is the spaying and neutering part of it because bodega cats mix with feral cats all the time,\u201d he said. \u201cIf we don\u2019t address that piece, we\u2019re just going to add to the overpopulation prices that rescue workers have struggled with for decades.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"orangeOmish is a cool corner store cat in Brooklyn.Photo by Bodega Cats of New York<\/p>\n

Rimada echoed Powers\u2019 point about the city funding the vital health programs that benefit not only the cats, but the surrounding communities.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a lot of money tossed recently for the Rat Czar<\/a> to take care of the rat problem,\u201d he said. \u201cWe can move city funds around to fund spaying and neutering.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, there is strong public support for the bill. In fact, Rimada said his petition this year drew over 13,000 signatures in support of protecting the city\u2019s corner store cats.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Former 2025 mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa, famously known for his love of animals, told amNewYork that bodega cats are part of the Big Apple\u2019s tradition and supports their legalization.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cKeith Powers\u2019 bill would allow them to come out of the shadows,\u201d he said. \u201cNo longer would there be the constant fear that the NYC Department of Health would visit and issue fines and sometimes threaten bodega owners that they might remand the bodega cat to a shelter.\u201d<\/p>\n

The bill, if passed, would enable the cats to perform their primary function of deterring rats and mice from entering the bodega where they live, Sliwa explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is Mother Nature\u2019s way of protecting food stocks without resorting to the use of dangerous poisons,\u201d Sliwa said. \u201cAll bodega cat lives matter!\u201d<\/p>\n

amNewYork contacted the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. A spokesperson for the agency said it \u201cdoes not take a position on pending legislation.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Brooklyn bodega cat watches the world go by, probably judging it accordingly. Photo by Dean Moses The…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":377065,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,3425,181183,4653,181184,5340,405,403,5226,5225,5228,5227,101903,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-377064","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-animals","10":"tag-bodega-cats","11":"tag-cats","12":"tag-council-member-keith-powers","13":"tag-curtis-sliwa","14":"tag-new-york","15":"tag-new-york-city","16":"tag-newyork","17":"tag-newyorkcity","18":"tag-ny","19":"tag-nyc","20":"tag-nyc-department-of-health","21":"tag-united-states","22":"tag-united-states-of-america","23":"tag-unitedstates","24":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","25":"tag-us","26":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115545118887985393","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/377064","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=377064"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/377064\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/377065"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=377064"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=377064"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=377064"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}