Do Not Come For Our Bodega Cats—A Brief History of A Symbiotic Relationship

So someone going by the name of Diane D left a rather nasty Yelp review of a Manhattan deli because of their cat. The person started citing her allergies to cats being a problem and that she’s sure it’s also a health violation—which of course it is—but have several seats, Diane, and learn something. 

A warning to the Dianes and gentrifiers of the world: Don’t you dare come for our bodega cats. 

For over 12,000 years, cats have played an important role since the first agrarian societies began sprouting in the Middle East in what we learned in grade school was known as the Fertile Crescent. 

As humans went from wanderers in nomadic societies to planting roots in one place as our ancestors began to settle and farm the land, along came rodents, snakes, and other vermin attracted to ancient humans’ grain stores send foods. 

Enter cats. 

Cats were quite aloof until this point and it’s believed that our ancient ancestors saw the benefits of attracting cats when they realized what skillful hunters they were at keeping their pest problems at bay. 

8,000 years later, cats had risen to a holy status and even worshipped as gods in Ancient Egypt and even mummified with the best. 

All because they were excellent at what they did—protecting human’s food just by going after their prey. 

This trend continued throughout history for thousands of years and is still ongoing in societies across the globe. 

In a city like New York, infested with rats, you should be thankful that your local deli, bodega, supermarket has a cat to protect your food from nasty critters like rats and their ilk  

I mean they can’t be that bad of the city has basically turned a blind eye on all the cats they see in these businesses with nary a warning to remove them. 

So if you have an issue with cats in your bodegas, do yourself (and the cats) a favor and go elsewhere but don’t come for our bodega cats—unless you enjoy rat turds in your food.