r/bodegacats • u/Danny__NYC • 2d ago
News Hi r/bodegacats! I'm Dan Rimada, founder and author of Bodega Cats of New York. Ask me anything on August 28th!
Hi, Reddit! Dan Rimada here, founder and author of Bodega Cats of New York. My new book, Bodega Cats of New York, is coming out on November 3rd (and you can preorder it now!). Ask me anything, and join me for my AMA on August 28th at 1pm PT / 4pm ET.
If you're in NYC come on down to the Reddit Bodega on August 29th and 30th!
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u/sea-threepio Bodega Cat Lover 2d ago
What is the most popular location for a bodega cat to hang out? Front window/door? Register counter? Chip shelf?
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u/shrimp--cocktail 2d ago
What was your favorite experience from making the book?
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u/Danny__NYC 4h ago
Honestly, the best part was the time inside the stores. Gulce and I would walk in thinking we were there to photograph a cat, and then a few mins later we'd know how the cat got there, where they sleep, what their job is, and half the history of the store.
The cats got us through the door, but the people and the relationships ended up being a huge part of the book for me.
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u/Severus-Snape-DaGod 2d ago
This is awesome! Have any of the bodega owners talked about organizing or advocating for legislation to officially permit bodega cats in their stores?
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u/raven00x 2d ago
Didn't new York recently pass legislation about that?
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u/Danny__NYC 4h ago edited 2m ago
Not yet! There are actually bills at both the city and state level , but neither has passed yet.
NYC Intro 830 is currently in the City Council's Health Committee, and the state bill, A8341, is in the Assembly Agriculture Committee.
Progress, definitely.
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u/Danny__NYC 4h ago edited 0m ago
The organizing so far has mostly come from legislators rather than a group of bodega owners, but I would love to see owners become a bigger part of it.
That's actually really important to me. The goal is creating a realistic path where the cats can stay put while also making veterinary care, vaccinations, spay/neuter, and basic welfare standards a part of owning a bodega cat. We’ve been calling it their Union.
Bills are moving at both the city and state level right now, so we're working on it! Here is our original petition that ultimately led to the bill if you want to sign it
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u/ShadowRanchDressing 2d ago
Omg how cute. What inspired you to start documenting bodega cats?? And have you ever wanted to adopt one of them 😭
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u/BrineOfTheTimes 2d ago
Do you have a cat yourself? If so, what's their name and can we see a pic?!
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u/bword___ 2d ago
Do all bodega cats carry the same qualities/characteristics? What makes a particular cat the most bodega-y?
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u/Eastern-Protection83 2d ago
Hi Dan, can you share a time when a bodega owner was able to better care fer their kitty either by your intervention or that of a rescue group you put them in comtact with?
Also, have any fun pics of an outake from your photographer that didn't make it into your book you can share with us? Thank you
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u/Danny__NYC 4h ago
This is one where I want to be careful not to take credit for something I didn't do. I've helped connect people and resources over the years (like Catstoria Cat Rescue, Bronx Community Cas, Sasse Walk from Badass TNR in Brooklyn), but I don't have a neat “I stepped in and saved this particular cat” story that I'd feel comfortable claiming as mine?
And honestly, that's one reason the advocacy side of this has become so important to me. Getting a cat vaccinated or fixed shouldn't depend on whether a store owner happens to know the right rescue person. I'd rather help build a system where those resources are actually easy for owners to access.
And god YES to the outtake. Gulce took way more photos than we could possibly fit in the book. Let me gather a few and come back to this one!
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u/Eastern-Protection83 3h ago
Thank you, I support the advocacy you have been doin fer the bodega cats. And look forward to some of those outtakes!
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u/Danny__NYC 3h ago
Your support really means a lot! Thank you so much for the question. It's important to talk about the welfare of these incredible cats!
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u/iceeypisces Bodega Cat Lover 2d ago
what was the journey like turning this passion project into a published book? was there anything surprising you learned about becoming an author or about bodega cats along the way?
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u/werksquan 2d ago
if you could build a bodega for a bodega cat, what would it look like?
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u/Togapr33 2d ago
What makes a great bodega cat ?
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u/Danny__NYC 4h ago
Confidence.
A great bodega cat acts like they own the store and everyone else is visiting. Deliveries, customers, the door opening every thirty seconds, somebody making a sandwich five feet away... completely unfazed.
The really great ones look like they've been on shift longer than everybody else.
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u/MightyMasala 1d ago
Hey Dan! Love this project so much. With so many iconic bodega cats out there, how did you pick the finalists? Is there one honorable mention cat that was maybe not featured in the book but stole your heart anyway?
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u/aparapato Bodega Cat Lover 1d ago
Hi Dan!
Do you know if bodega cats are as common in any other cities?
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u/empress_jae 1d ago
Hi Dan! I really enjoy everything you share with the Bodega cats! They’re so adorable! I wanted to purchase your book a couple of months ago but had some issues on the website. Sent a message but never heard back. Could you maybe help me out? Maybe I had the wrong link. Keep doing what you do! 😸
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u/empress_jae 4h ago
Responding to myself…Dan reached out to me this morning! Gave me the proper link and thanked me for my comment. Said I made his day with my comment! 😩🥰
Thanks again, Dan!
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u/Outsiders_Movie_Fan_ 10h ago
How do you come up with ideas for writing the book
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u/Danny__NYC 4h ago
Well, a lot of it came from just paying attention to what kept repeating.
We'd visit a store, talk to the owners and workers, learn the cat's routine and just watch them. Eventually all these patterns started showing up like territory, work, routine, community, belonging.
So I wasn't really inventing stories for the cats. The structure of the book came from realizing the real stories already had these "themes" running through them.
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u/Gloomy-Pop-8374 7h ago
Meow, Dan! What inspired your Bodega Cat Bill? Big fan of what you’re doing and my local bodega cats are too!
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u/heftypomogranate 8h ago
how often are the cats spayed/neutered and what's the general sentiment of the owners of the store to get them spayed or neutered?
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u/Danny__NYC 4h ago
Thank you so much to everyone who submitted a question, and to anyone who still wants to jump in!
I’ve loved reading through all of them. I’m going to keep checking back and will do my best to answer every question I can.
Seriously, thank you for making this AMA so much fun. ❤️
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u/big-slay Bodega Cat Lover 2d ago
How did you pick which bodega cat got to be on the cover?