It’s a remarkable story, a man with a serious drug addiction problem finds an abandoned and injured cat on the streets of London and decides to take care of him. That was in 2007 and from that moment on James Bowen's life was never the same again.
It was thus with an extremely heavy heart that Bowen announced the passing of his "lifesaver" and constant companion, Bob, on the 15th June. Taking to social media Bowen said "Bob saved my life. It's as simple as that. He gave me so much more than companionship. With him at my side, I found a direction and purpose that I'd been missing.
"The success we achieved together through our books and films was miraculous. He's met thousands of people, touched millions of lives."
"There's never been a cat like him. And never will again. I feel like the light has gone out in my life. I will never forget him."
The two became inseparable after meeting and Bob would often join Bowen as he busked and sold The Big Issue on the streets of London.
The rest, as they say, is history, Bowen went on to write a book about how Bob helped him overcome his addiction and get his life back on track. The book became a best-seller called A Street Cat Named Bob. It was made into a movie in 2016 starring Luke Treadaway with Bob even famously appearing on the red carpet at the premiere with Bowen.
Hodden & Stoughton, the publishers of the book, said in a statement: "As James and Bob continued to find fans all over the world, Bob led an incredible life meeting well-wishers at book signings, travelling the world and coping with feline fame.
"He was an extraordinary cat who will be greatly missed."
On Tuesday night RIP Bob was trending on Twitter as thousands across the globe paid tribute.
Bob's own Twitter account describes him as Street-cat. Soul-mate. Fund-raiser. The subject of books, a movie and now a new animation series coming soon. He achieved more in his life than a lot of humans do!
Bob will appear as himself in a film sequel, A Gift from Bob, later this year. This interview about the movie was posted on his Twitter account last year.
A sneak peek at what we're up to on the set of A Gift From Bob. Hope you enjoy. https://t.co/HL6O30RqTV
— StreetCat Bob (@StreetCatBob) December 2, 2019
We can’t wait to see it Bob, RIP, over the rainbow bridge you go.
