It was a hot, muggy day. The cats were sleepy. The black cat was totally unconscious and immobile. Forget about trying to get a copy of whatever he's sleeping on.
The three-legged tabby was sitting at the back of the store, meowing loudly at a man trying to browse the fiction. He wasn't interested. I gave the tabby some attention and he flopped over and quickly lost consciousness.
One of the joys of New York City is its bookstore cats. When the bookstores are gone, of course, there will be no bookstore cats. Enjoy them while you can.
For more on these cats, check out their profile at Racked.
18 comments:
Damn! Your blog is getting more pathetic day by day!!!
I am definitely enjoying the catapalooza going on at JVNY this week! City kittehs rule!
Skyline Books has a great cat, some fat Persian looking thing. He's awesome.
Don't listen to the kitty haters!!! We love kittehs — and you!
Bookstore cats and bodega cats are one of the best parts of NYC.
sometimes, one needs a blog-vacation and then it's time to trot out the kitties.
btw, there's a great flickr group out there dedicated to bodega cats of NYC.
Really, you have to love and respect the place that lets their cat get all up on the merchandise, even if it could impact the bottom line to some small degree.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/propagandapanda/3765642344/
My two fave cats lately are bodega cats - there's a roly-poly black & white in the deli on 2nd Ave & 6th St who demands to be petted and has the cutest high-pitched squeak. The other is a dirty white and yellow basement cat on Broome & Sullivan who darts out of the cellar to say hi. He's currently training a gray protege to be as friendly.
Expect the B-Berg administration to
ban all animals, including cats in public stores soon. They will claim it's a safety hazard as well as a threat to people with allergies.
Reading about these cats is a joy. We've all seen many books with photographs devoted to a single facet of NY; I've never seen one devoted to its cats, the mousers. Cats once lived in the courtyard behind my apt. bldg. Residents lovingly took food to them. Then the Yunnies moved in and drove the cats away; the kitties were deemed unacceptable. And Yunnies, we all know, are precious.
I do indeed love kittys, I adore them! But this once occasionally decent blog is descending into sad irrelevance. Perhaps the Jeremiah the Great has burned himself out?
Maybe he's 'overhunkered'himself from the 'wrecking ball?'
Just wondering...
You know, I quit tumblr because of the cats vs. sharks thingy that kept popping-up on my dashboard. And now. I'm seeing cats on blogger dashboard. Well, hope you'd post something about sharks, might as well
"sad irrelevance." the way of all flesh, indeed...
Jeremiah, seriously...please employ "reject comment" more often. Don't humour these asshats. Blogs are not a democracy.
fyi, publisher's weekly is running a best bookstore cat contest. http://comeinsidekitty.blogspot.com/2009/08/publishers-weekly-contest-tell-us-about.html
i personally think that isbn, the cat at Recycle books in Cambell, CA, will be hard to beat, but i hope our nyc bookstore cats can represent.
yes these are some of my fave cats too. j - you should check out the cats at the herb store on bleecker across from the STILL unfilled, since 2004, Zito's bakery spot. there is a sign that i think one of the cats shouldn't be pet/played with, but if you are not a tourist annoying type i think it should be okay later. this store i think it's called Aphrodaisia is a old timer in this touristy hood. the herbs are unbelievably cheap, as is the chocolate covered coffee beans and the woman who owns it is a neighborhood person. it's a very special store.
other fave cats include a pet shop next door to the old Zito's place. this big cat always sits outside, even on that crazy touristy street and never gets hurt. there's also another cat that guards another bodega on w. houston, just a few storefronts down from the old school pizza place in the shadows of NYU.
um, you can tell i remember places more by place and sight than the names. they are etched in my mind in my walks.
plus most pet stores have nice cats. the one near that MARFA bar on 2nd st? has a nice cat. i'm forgetting some cats, some really good ones and can't recall! anyways, check out these cats.
respectfully submitted
-stef
Great post! I would probably read a whole blog on bookstore cats. There must be a reason for the populatity of that Ed Gorey totebag that says "Books...cats...life is good" (or words to that effect). One man's irrelevance is another man's (or gal's) day-brightener!
btw, thanks willow. i don't reject comments, generally, unless they are fiercely attacking or violent, or if they name names in a way that could be libelous. but maybe i should do more.
i have also considered not allowing anonymous comments. at least with nicknames, it's easier to have conversations with repeat commenters.
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