Friends

17 May 2013

A STREET CAT NAMED BOB


A STREET CAT NAMED BOB

In February this year I posted here about a shopping experience, when I was persuaded by a young woman in a wheelchair to buy a particular book. It was called A Street Cat Named Bob and I promised to tell you about it when I finished reading. So here goes.

UK folk may have seen videos and interviews about the cat and owner/author of the book, James Bowen, but if they haven’t read the book I hope this will encourage them to do so.

James Bowen was a busker first and then became a vendor of the Big Issue. His life had been extremely unsettled and many things drove him to homelessness and drug abuse. At the time of writing he was on a drug dependency programme. But his life changed when an injured ginger tom, thought to be a feral cat, appeared near his flat. James took him in and began to look after him and in return the animal gave the guy something to live for. In effect, they looked after each other. When James was busking near London tube stations, Bob would go with him. He would sit on his shoulder as they travelled or walk beside him on a makeshift lead. Since the world is made up of animal lovers, commuters and foreign visitors loved Bob and generously dropped coins into James guitar case. Some brought treats for Bob and one lady knitted scarves to keep him warm. The increase in donations meant that James was able to feed them both.

There were some ups and downs but the cat remained close and James strove to kick the drug habit completely. They were buddies, each helping the other. One day a group of Spanish teenagers told James they had seen Bob on YouTube. That was news to James although a lot of folk had taken photographs of him and Bob so it was reasonable to expect that they did something with them.

An American lady, an agent by the name of Mary Pachnos, asked James to consider writing a book but it was the Spanish teenagers who made him realise that he and Bob were local celebrities. Since then James has been interviewed by the press and appeared with Bob on BBC’s The One Show.

The book was an insight into the life of Big Issue seller and I am firmly resolved to buy one in future instead of simply walking by.

I’d like to end this post with and final paragraph from the list of acknowledgements at the back of the book:

Last, and most definitely not least, of course, I have to thank the little fellow who came into my life in 2007 and who – from the moment I befriended him – has proven to be such a positive, life-changing force in my life. Everyone deserves a friend like Bob. I have been very fortunate indeed to have found one.

James Bowen
London, January 2012.

 

Below are some links to James and his book:

  • For the latest news and stories from James and Bob go here 
  • For Bobs very own Twitter site: @streetcatbob.
  • And Amazon here 
  • A special edition is available here for children aged 11 and above 

14 comments:

  1. ha. what a cool story they have.
    friends like bob are def hard to find...bet it would be a cool book...meow.

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  2. What a brilliant story he has to share. And apparently, read-worthy. I enjoyed the clip--and I enjoy that he's seems to remain a 'good ol boy'.

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  3. Thanks for reminding me about this book.... I marked it your original post.

    Everyone deserves to have a 'Bob' in their life.....

    Happy weekend !

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  4. Thanks, Faye. Let me know if you enjoy the book.

    Mel, I hope everything goes well for him now.

    Brian, the book was difficult to put down.

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  5. That sounds like a heartwarming story Valerie. :)

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  6. Valerie, I cannot thank you ENOUGH for sharing this post! OMG....it was so heart-warming!

    Bob is so CUTE!!!

    The video is AWESOME!!!! And I love how at the book signing, James has a rubber stamp with Bobs paw print on it - HA!

    I've seen this book at Barnes & Noble, but now I'm going to purchase and read it.

    Again, thank you for sharing this book review post, dear lady. Thoroughly enjoyed it!

    This book is proof that animals DO love and have an amazing ability to help us humans.

    Have a wonderful weekend!

    X

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  7. Pearl, heartwarming is the right word.

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  8. What a wonderful story! Thanks for bringing it to our attention!

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  9. Ron, I echo your view about animals. The book is quite a small volume, it doesn't take long to read. I just know you would enjoy it.

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  10. That's a lovely story. St. Francis must have sent that beautiful animal to help the young man! Thank you for your excellent review. I was looking forward all day to see which book you reviewed and, another coincidence, today I posted a cat post myself!

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  11. I cried the whole time I read your post, Valerie. They are tears of joy. My heart goes out to the recovering addict, but especially our feline friends who bring us so much joy, companionship, and unconditional love.

    Bob's a really wonderful, cool, and neat cat. I'm so happy they found each other.

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  12. This sounds like something I would like to read, I will check it out.

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  13. Wow. What a cool story and it is good to hear stuff like this because we often hear too many negative stories out there. Animals are awesome. Thanks Val for sharing. Have a great weekend.

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  14. Hello Pam. I know how you feel, I got a bit weepy myself.

    Banker Chick, do let me know what you think of the book.

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