Fluffy Misdemeanors

By Gordon Hopkins There are a lot of ne'er-do-wells in the Big Apple. I assume that's why so many cop shows are set in New York City. There are muggers, drug dealers, organized crime.And, of course, cats. Not just any cats. Bodega cats. In NYC, the difference between a hole-in-the-wall convenience store and a real New York City bodega is a cat, napping on the shelves between the beer and potato chips.Cats have been a staple of the NYC scene for years. But they aren't just for show. Bodega cats are working cats. They protect their businesses from NYC's second most obnoxious pest (after pretentious art critics that wear black turtlenecks and little scarves and drink imported water from glass bottles), rats.But they aren't just pest control. They're also sales cats. After all, they bring people into the stores.Unfortunately, those staples of New York life are not only adorable, they are also illegal. Animals living in a place that sells foods is a health code violation. As per 1 CRR-NY 271-7.30, “(a) Live animals shall be excluded from within the retail food store operational areas and from immediately adjacent areas inside the store.” Up until now, the Health Department has either been overlooking these fluffy violators or been too busy with bedbugs at five star hotels to worry about a few cats. But now fans of bodega cats are worried about a possible crackdown, so they have launched a petition to save the jobs of these hard-working felines.I support this movement. After all, they are earning their keep. Do we really want to put a bunch of cats on unemployment?

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