The latest bill purring through the New York state legislature right now is the cat’s meow.
Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal, who represents the Upper West Side, introduced a bill to support bodega cats by providing health and safety guidelines to help ensure humane treatment of the friendly felines who guard snacks and toiletries in corner stores throughout the Big Apple.
The bill, introduced in May 2025, was moved into the Assembly’s agriculture committee on Jan. 7 this year. If enacted, the law would direct the NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets to establish an official statewide care standard for cats who live in retail stores.
“Veterinary care and safety measures are important for the well-being of cats, no matter whether they live in a home or a store,” Rosenthal told amNewYork. “Cats living in bodegas should enjoy the same protections as those who live with people and their families, and this bill aims to do just that.”
Language in the bill focuses on health and safety for the cats, who have an important job of handling pest control while looking cute and adding to community charm.
“The department shall establish health and safety guidelines pertaining to the humane and sanitary treatment of cats living in retail food stores,” the bill reads. “Such guidelines shall authorize retail food store owners or operators to keep cats in retail food stores in adherence with relevant health code provisions, provided that such retail food stores is in compliance with responsible care standards.”
A special ‘cat zone’ in bodegas
The bill includes a provision for a “cat zone,” separate from food preparation and storage areas, where a tired feline can grab a cat nap, retreat and rejuvenate.
It would also establish requirements for regular veterinary care, including vaccinations and mandatory spaying or neutering.
Under the bill, shop owners would be responsible for the costs of covering care, the same as if the cat lived at home with a person.
City and state push to support bodega cats
The bill is separate from the city legislation introduced last year by former Manhattan Council Member Keith Powers, which would manage enforcement protection at the city level. The state bill would oversee statewide standards.
Since city law cannot override state regulations, cat advocates are calling for both city and state legislation on the matter.
“Both approaches matter,” Dan Rimada, founder of the advocacy group Bodega Cats of New York, said. “Protection without standards leaves quality of care up to individual owners. Standards without protection still expose owners to fines. The two bills are complementary, not competing. If both pass, New York would have the most comprehensive legal framework for working shop cats in the country.
Rimada added that there is strong public support for bodega cat regulation. A petition he circulated last year garnered over 13,000 signatures in support of protecting corner story cats.
“Nothing makes me happier than seeing a bodega cat, they are essential to our communities and the owners that care for them are doing wonderful things by giving them a place to live and be loved and cared for like they so desperately deserve to be,” one “cat-vocate” wrote on the petition.
amNewYork contacted the state Department of Agriculture and Markets for comment on the bill and is awaiting a response.
