It was not a very fulfilling existence and his prospects didn't look good. Until .. Bob makes an appearance. One cold March evening he went home and found an injured and hungry ginger tomcat in the stairwell of his block of flats; it seemed he might have been attacked by a dog, or maybe a fox. James, who says he'd always liked cats, 'spoke to' him and found him friendly, but didn't feel that in the circumstances he could take him in — and anyway he might have belonged to someone. But when the cat was still there 3. He took him in, gave him some food and drink and asked around to see if he could find an owner. No one in the neighbourhood claimed the cat, and James could see that he had a nasty abscess on a back leg. So he took him to the RSPCA's Harmsworth Animal Hospital to be treated, spending some of the last of his money at the time on antibiotics. The vet thought he was probably not yet a year old. James felt he then had to keep the animal at least for a couple of weeks to ensure he received his medication and recovered, so off he went to buy some cat food. Then he had to go out with his guitar to try to earn some more cash. The pair gradually got to know each other, and James was finding that Bob, although certainly not perfect, was quite special. It didn't seem as though he was, or had been, a house cat and he insisted on doing his toileting outdoors. James was still thinking that when he had regained his health, Bob would want to move on. Bob, as his condition continued to improve, had other ideas, though! When James left to go busking, the cat would try to follow, despite his best efforts to send him home. Eventually he gave in. Bob goes busking. To cut a long story short, Bob started to accompany James, travelling on his shoulder on the busy London streets, on buses and the Underground. While James was playing his guitar and singing, Bob would calmly sit on his bag, or in the guitar case, with remarkable poise and equanimity. The effect on the day's takings was dramatic; as James put it, the cat made him cease to be 'invisible', as people stopped to chat, stroke Bob and take photographs. As time went on, Bob gained a proper harness and lead for his safety, he was neutered and microchipped — and became a very important part of James' life. He therefore applied to become a Big Issue seller, and was accepted — it was something he'd done previously for a short time. It's a weekly street newspaper, written by professional journalists and sold in several countries of the world by homeless or similarly disadvantaged people; they buy the papers themselves and sell them at a profit, giving them a chance to improve their situation. Sellers have to be registered, and each usually has a particular spot, or 'pitch', where they are to be found in their town or city. James' usual spots were near entrances to the Underground ('Tube') stations at Angel, Islington and at Covent Garden. Because of Bob's popularity at the Underground stations and his frequent travels around London, Transport for London presented him with his very own special Oyster card. The unusual pair started to feature on the internet. One day one of the people who saw them at their pitch was Mary Pachnos, a literary agent who had previously acted as the UK agent for Marley and Me, a book about a mischievous dog who forms a special bond with his human family. She thought that James and Bob's story, and their unique relationship, would also make good book material. The rest, to quote an oft- used saying, is history! A book deal was agreed during 2. A Street Cat Named Bob was published by Hodder and Stoughton (outer left, and also see details and our review in Folios).
Its success was immediate and almost worldwide, and it's been translated into almost 3. In 2. 01. 3 a second book appeared, The World According to Bob (right), and looks set to also sell very well; sales of the two books together have already reached a million — and the first one wasn't released in the United States until July 2. A nice idea has been the website Around the World in 8. Bobs, showing the book against backgrounds of places where it's been read. Another of his trademarks is that James has taught him to 'high five' with one of his paws when James holds up his hand. An Oregon house cat has been named the world's oldest at the ripe old age of 26. Here is a list of names of famous people named Bob, as well as normal guys named Bob, from all over the United States and the rest of the world. He was awarded the 'Tails of the Unexpected' Honour (right), a special award given to an exceptional animal or individual that falls outside of the regular honours categories. Charity work. Naturally there's a huge internet presence now, with an avidly followed Facebook page and also a Twitter account. On the home front, James said that 2. Bob's lives, and so in 2. In particular he chose Blue Cross (right), the charity that had regularly treated and supported Bob in the past, when times were hard for him and for James, and that every year makes a difference for thousands of other cats, dogs and other pets. A campaign was opened at Just. Giving where anyone could make a donation to the charity, and it was successful to the tune of over . In addition, and as some other celebrities have done in the past, James — with Bob's assistance, of course — helped to paint a special teapot cleverly featuring Bob's portrait and signed by the two of them (left). The pot was auctioned on e. Bay and raised . An exciting possibility is a Hollywood film, but nothing definite has yet been decided about that; if it came to fruition there would be the prospect of a trip to the States for the pair. Earlier James said that he wanted to renovate his London flat, but more recently he's spoken of leaving London and finding a home for Bob and himself in the country. One idea James mentioned earlier was to register Bob as a Care in the Community animal, so he could take him to old people's homes and care centres. Maybe I'd have to take some courses in community care or something like that.'Whatever happens, it's been an absolutely amazing time for James; he says that he no longer needs to go busking or selling The Big Issue — and he doesn't hesitate to put it all down to the ginger cat who entered his life in 2. Updates. Late 2. 01. Following the success of his books James has been able to give up busking and selling the Big Issue, and much of his and Bob's time is devoted to book signings and charity work. By mid- December 2. Earlier in the year an event we didn't hear much about was a scheme run by ZSL (London Zoo) to raise money to buy giant toys for the zoo's Sumatran tigers, Jae Jae and Melati, to play with in their new Tiger Territory, opened in the same month by the Duke of Edinburgh. It seems that certain well- known cats were given tiger toys to play with, publicity shots were taken and then the toys and 'pawtographed' photos were auctioned on e. Bay. Downing Street Larry was one cat that took part, and Bob was another — in fact he raised the largest amount. March 2. 01. 4: It was reported that total sales of James' books in the United Kingdom had reached a million — a figure that few authors achieve. A signed copy was auctioned in aid of the charity, and at the Just. Giving site James and Bob continue to raise funds for other causes: to donate visit either James's page where an appeal has been running in support of Cats Protection, or Bob's page where an appeal was launched recently for a dogs' home at Manchester, a large part of which had been destroyed by fire. In September James announced a new website for him and Bob, and in October another book will be published, A Gift from Bob. Links and further reading. Jul 2. 01. 0, Annie Mole's Going Underground blog: Angel Tube Cat. This was quite possibly the first site to pass on the earliest tale of Bob and James when Annie Mole, who also has a Flickr account, reproduced details and a photo by a fellow Flickr user of the pair outside the Angel station at Islington in mid- 2. Shortly afterwards another caught up with James for a short interview at the station and posted the clip at You. Tube (can be seen from Annie's blog page linked above), and the local Islington Tribune (link below) also picked up on it at around the same time. In combination these sources began to spread the story more widely. Sep 2. 01. 0, Islington Tribune: Two cool cats.. Annie also revisited the pair's story when the first book was published in Mar 2. Book Launch: Bob Angel Tube Cat's book is now on sale. Mar 2. 01. 2, London Evening Standard: Bob the busking cat. Mar 2. 01. 2, BBC London News (video clip): Feline tale: A Street Cat Named Bob changes busker's life. Mar 2. 01. 2, Islington Gazette: Angel station Big Issue seller and his cat sign copies of book about their moving friendship. Mar 2. 01. 2, CBS News (video clip): A Street Cat Named Bob. Apr 2. 01. 2, Metro newspaper (interview): James Bowen: I turned to drugs to forget my homelessness. May 2. 01. 2, The Conscious Cat (US website): An interview with James Bowen, street musician and author of A Street Cat Named Bob. Jul 2. 01. 2, Camden New Journal: Tale of a City: How Bob the cat became a literary smash hit. Nov 2. 01. 2, Islington Tribune: Movie stardom beckons for stray whose friendship with Big Issue seller.. Nov 2. 01. 2, Daily Mail: The enchanting bestselling story of a stray moggy who saved a man's life is set to be a movie. Feb 2. 01. 3, Islington Gazette: James Bowen and his street cat Bob show support for Blue Cross. Feb 2. 01. 3, Guardian (interview): James Bowen and Bob the cat. Feb 2. 01. 3, BBC Breakfast (video clip): Bob the street cat, one man's best friend. Mar 2. 01. 3, London Zoo: Toys for tigers at ZSL London Zoo. Mar 2. 01. 3, Inside Housing: Magic moggy - the article concentrates more on the homelessness and social housing aspect of James's story. Jul 2. 01. 3, Daily Mirror: . By taking the following links to the originals these photos can be seen full- sized with dates, and sometimes a little further detail and/or additional shots. Harry Mitchell . Photocritic. Dan Chippendale . Stuff n Nonsense (via Annie Mole) . Bernie Lampert . Fabio Lugaro . Leo Reynolds . Elena Alhimovich.
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