Growing up in Ridgewood, Queens, the comedian Michelladonna (real name: Michelle Reiss), knew she could always count on seeing Lulu, a black-and-white striped cat, whenever she ran into the corner store for a snack. She counts Lulu as a close confidante, a silent witness to the goings-on of the neighborhood who knows everyone’s gossip.
“I have literally gone to Lulu at the end of the night and been like, ‘Hey girl, let’s talk,’” says Michelladonna, who is 26. “That’s just part of life here: you say hi to the cat, you greet the manager, and then you continue your day.”
New York’s corner stores – called bodegas anywhere in the five boroughs – are more than just a place to buy beer, coffee and cigarettes. The shops have long served as ad hoc community centers, open 24/7 and every day of the year. Friendly owners know their customers’ names, faces and personal dramas. (A recently popular TikTok featured an avuncular bodega owner showing a young woman covert pictures he took of her ex’s new girlfriend.)
Originally opened by Puerto Rican and Hispanic owners, bodegas are increasingly staffed by Yemeni Americans, and the people who work there represent their neighborhood’s cultural makeup. Bodegas are so beloved that when two former Google staffers proposed replacing them with glorified vending machines called “Bodegas”, New Yorkers laughed them out of town.
But to Michelladonna, and countless others, there’s another reason to visit a bodega: its resident cat. Part vermin control, part mascot, these felines can be seen lounging amid Cheetos bags or roaming by the freezer cases.
And while you may only be able to find a bodega cat in New York, their influence has gone global thanks to a host of social media accounts such as @bodegacatsofinstagram (538,000 followers), @bodegacatsofnewyork (46,600 followers) and Shop Cats, a TikTok show hosted by Michelladonna, who “interviews” these furry workers while highlighting the small businesses where they (unofficially, at times lazily) work.
Dan Rimada, who runs @bodegacatsofinstagram, estimated to NPR last month that “around 30-40%” of bodegas in the city employ these cats.
Michelladonna’s romps through town have led her to meet Linda, a “shy little kitty” and orange bodega cat found cleaning herself while lying in a bed of onions at a Bushwick shop. Or Benito, a “tough guy cat” living in Crown Heights, considered such a boss of the store that he wears his own gold chain. Then there’s the “chonkalicious” Oreo, Rubenesque in form and toddling around a Hell’s Kitchen deli.
“We go in and check out the vibes of the cat,” Michelladonna said. “Sometimes the cats don’t want none of it, and we bake that in and make that part of the episode.
“They are our talent, and we want to make sure that the talent feels good.”
While these shop cats might be the true stars, Michelladonna finds supporting characters in the bodega workers and customers – because no one gives better man-on-the-street commentary than a New Yorker. Kumer, who owns a flower shop in Chelsea, copped to taking more than 100 photos a day of Luna, a smoky Siamese who roams through the aisles. Roan, who works at a costume shop in Flatiron, called Mr Hyde, a black cat who sleeps on the counters, “bougie as hell”.
Michelladonna was cast by Mad Realities, a production company that focuses on short-form social media content, after gigging as a standup in the city. She studied finance at Cornell, graduating in the middle of the pandemic, but decided that she couldn’t go into corporate life. “I asked myself, ‘What would happen if I die tomorrow?’” Elmhurst hospital, near her childhood home in Queens, was the dead center of coronavirus at the time. “I would hear stuff about people in my circles passing away,” Michelladonna said. “I said, ‘fuck it, let me try going into comedy, because what I really love is entertaining.’”
Though New Yorkers may have decided to own the concept of bodega cats, Michelladonna says that the show does well outside the city, too. “I get people asking me to go to Brazil, France, Turkey, Japan and Colombia [to see their shop cats],” she said. “The audience is all over.” Shop Cats is also on RedNote, the Chinese app and TikTok competitor that became popular in the US amid drama over a potential TikTok ban.
Sarah Lohman, an author and historian of food who has studied bodega cats, says that bodega cats are good PR for felines, who historically have been viewed as more aloof and less lovable than dogs. “Up until about 15 years ago, we’ve always painted dogs as man’s best friend, but because of social media, cats hold an equally esteemed position, and can also be best friends,” Lohman said. “You see this most clearly in the relationship between bodega cats and their city.”
But not everyone is a fan. Technically, bodega cats are illegal. Unless a health inspector finds them particularly charming, they can fine shops for having one. Though it’s certainly a loosely enforced law, Rimada, the founder of @bodegacatsofnewyork, has created a petition to change this law, and have the city finally officially recognize bodega cats as working animals, not unlike seeing-eye or drug-detection dogs. More than 11,000 people have signed the petition so far.
“If we give bodega cats that distinction, then the city can start to provide funding that will help bodega cats,” Rimada said. He has talked to animal shelter volunteers who have used their own money to spay, neuter or provide other veterinary care to beloved bodega cats. Along with Michelladonna and the Instagram account @bodegacatsofinstagram, Rimada started a fundraiser to cover the costs of this healthcare.
“While many bodega cats are loved and well cared for, too many don’t receive the veterinary support they need,” Rimada said. “This campaign ensures these quintessential New Yorkers get the healthcare they deserve.” This includes medical care such as vaccinations, checkups and spaying or neutering the cats.
When she’s off the clock, Michelladonna spends just as much time with bodega cats as she would on screen. Recently, she was out with friends at a gay bar and wanted to run to the corner store to get some air and refreshments. She immediately asked the owner if he had a cat, and without hesitation, he told his 10-year-old son to bring Michelladonna to the basement to see it.
“I spent 20 minutes in the basement with this kid just playing with the cat, got my fix, and then I went back to the bar,” she said. “I was just vibing. To me, that’s what New York City is.”
