James Bowen

James Anthony Bowen (born 15 March 1979) is an English author based in London.

His memoirs A Street Cat Named Bob, The World According to Bob and A Gift from Bob, written with Garry Jenkins, were international best-sellers.

Bowen was born in Surrey on 15 March 1979 to John and Penelope Bowen (née Hartford-Davis).

Following his parents' divorce, three years later he moved to Australia with his mother.

As they moved frequently, Bowen seldom made friends and was often bullied at school.

He later dropped out of education in his second year of high school, becoming a self-confessed "tearaway kid".

In 1997, aged 17, he moved back to the United Kingdom to seek his fortune, desperately trying to make something of himself while he stayed with his half-sister and her husband in London.

Tensions arose and the arrangement did not last.

His pursuit of his singing career quickly faded as the band members drifted apart.

In time, he began sleeping on the streets.

For the next few years, Bowen either slept in the streets or stayed in shelters, most of the time terrified of his surroundings.

He began begging and using heroin to deal with the pain from being homeless.

One evening he returned home to find a ginger cat in the hallway of his building.

Assuming it belonged to another resident, he simply returned to his flat.

When the cat was still there the following day and the day after that, Bowen became concerned and discovered the cat was wearing no collar or ID tag, was too thin, had a very unhealthy coat, scratches on its face and an infected wound on his leg.

Bowen checked with other residents to see if the stray belonged to any of them and when none of them claimed ownership of the animal Bowen decided to help the cat.

According to the account in the book A Street Cat Named Bob, Bowen took the cat to the nearby Blue Cross pop up veterinary check up vans, which provided antibiotics to treat the infected wound.

To pay for the antibiotics he used his last twenty pounds, which he had been saving for food.

To make sure the cat received the full two-week course of medication, Bowen took him in for a time, while he continued to look for the stray's owner.

When he realised he wasn't going to find the owner, he released the cat back on to the street, hoping he'd find his own way home.

Instead, the cat began to follow Bowen around, even following him onto the bus when he left to go busking.

Concerned that the cat had nowhere else to go, Bowen took him in permanently, naming him Bob after the character Killer BOB from the television drama Twin Peaks.

In spring 2007, Bowen realised he wanted to better himself for the sake of Bob and he decided to quit the heroin he was on and go onto a methadone programme.

He continued busking in Covent Garden and living in a supported housing programme in Tottenham, London.

As Bob constantly followed Bowen when he was going to work, Bowen bought Bob a harness for safety and allowed him to come along to his regular spots in Covent Garden and Piccadilly Circus, travelling in the window seat of the number 73 bus.

The public reaction was positive and the pair became locally well known, their visibility increasing still further when Bowen began selling The Big Issue.

The public began uploading videos of Bowen and Bob to YouTube and tourists would visit Covent Garden to see them.

During this time, Bowen decided to conclude his methadone treatment.

He credits this development to Bob, saying "I believe it came down to this little man. He came and asked me for help and he needed me more than I needed to abuse my own body. He is what I wake up for every day now. He’s definitely given me the right direction to live my life".

Bob was kept as an indoor cat in his later life, occasionally being walked in his harness in a local park by Bowen.

A purpose-built catio was commissioned by Bowen to allow Bob secure access to their garden.

A film based on the first two books was released in 2016 and a sequel was released in 2020.

Bowen now dedicates his time to helping numerous charities that involve homelessness, literacy and animal welfare.

On 13 June 2020, Bob was fed in the kitchen of their home in Surrey and last seen at approximately 11:00 p.m., before Bowen noticed he was missing half an hour later.

On Monday 15 June 2020, two days after going missing, Bob was found dead at the side of a road around half a mile from his home and taken to a nearby vet's practice.

Bowen was informed by the vet over the phone.

The cause of death was determined to be haematoma from a head-on collision with a car, the driver of which remains unknown.

Bob had escaped through a skylight that had mistakenly been left ajar.

He was thought to be aged between 14 and 16 years old.

Following the announcement of Bob's death, The Big Issue magazine was inundated with tributes, messages and memories of Bob from all over the world.