Neighborhood celebrity, surrogate pet, mercantile mascot: the bodega cat has long been one of the unsung heroes of the city’s civic life.

Recently, on the heels of the release of a riveting urban-nature documentary, we asked you to help us celebrate the furry rodent-control experts.

Readers from 10 neighborhoods obliged with photos of their local bodega cats hard at work (plus one retired grocery mouser who now blogs from a rooftop in Cobble Hill). Thanks to all.