“A bodega cat is as sacred as an Egyptian temple cat and the punishment for speaking ill of one should be harsh and swift.” New Yorkers showed no mercy for a snarky Yelp user who tried to rat out a store cat.
According to a report in the New York Daily News, Yelp user Diane D. posted a negative review that focused on a bodega cat named Star who lives at the SK Deli Market on Second Avenue in the East Village.
She went after the store and its resident kitty, citing allergies and mentioning possible health code violations: “To my dismay,” Diane wrote, “there was a cat, perched upon some cases of Budweiser in the middle of the store!! Besides being allergic to cats, I wonder what the health code says about this?”
Bodega owner Byung Seo was unimpressed. The cat is a member of his family, he said, and he won’t throw her out, according to the Daily News.
The response on social media was swift and mocking, according to veteran Daily News columnist Gersh Kuntzman, who is known for keeping his finger on the pulse of city residents. Instagram user @sebastianxmatt called out Diane for sniping at the cat.
“First of all, her eyes alighted on the wrong thing: S.K. Deli sells a case of 12 Buds for $12.99. That’s a price worthy of two exclamation marks!!” replied the poster, who took a screen shot of the critical post.
Other Yelp posters pounced, according to Patch.com, and they didn’t pussy foot around: “You gotta be a miserable gentrifying a– b—h to yelp about the bodega cat,” tweeted @synkami. That comment and others prompted Diane D. to delete her original post. But the screenshot remained for all to see. Here’s a typical response: “How miserable of a person do you have to be to leave yelp reviews of bodega complaining about bodega cats?”
“Listen, if you are hating on a bodega cat, you are not a real New Yorker,” wrote Kuntzman, who came to the store to show his support. We couldn’t agree more.
I would shop there just too see the adorable kitty! Just another snob that has to complain about something!