Bob, the Big Issue cat London

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The Big Issue is 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', in their town or city where they are to be found. One such seller in London is James Bowen, who has regular pitches near entrances to the Underground ('Tube') stations at Angel, Islington and at Covent Garden. In between times James plies his trade as a street musician.

Some time ago James came across a stray cat with an injured leg, sitting in a doorway near where he lives; he thinks it had been bitten by a fox. Next day it was still there; he asked the folks in whose doorway it was, but they said they had no knowledge of the cat or where it came from; so James kindly took it home, fed it and then took it along to an animal shelter to get it sorted out. He thought that would be the end of it, but after they had prescribed some antibiotics, which James paid for, they said he should take the cat back with him — so that's what happened.

The abscess on the leg was successfully treated and after a couple of weeks was practically healed. James told the cat he was free to go now — but Bob, as he had been named, had other ideas! He'd become greatly attached to his rescuer and made it clear he wanted to stay with him. He would also try to follow James whenever he went out. Realising that cats usually do what they want, James gave up trying to get the cat to stay at home, bought him a harness and allowed Bob to go with him. These days the cat will be found sitting outside the station as James sells copies of the magazine, calmly sitting on his bag — which he will not leave — and guarding the takings. He appears to love the hustle and bustle, loves the attention he gets, and seems to enjoy posing for photos. He is a very calm and even-tempered cat, and happily travels with James on the Underground and on London buses.

James and Bob are now a familiar sight in central London, with the cat often draped around James's shoulder when they're on the move or else contentedly sitting at one of the pitches and receiving the attention of passers-by and posing for photographs. In the second clip the cat is seen wearing a scarf presented by one of his regular admirers, and James says Bob likes wearing it. James credits his companion with turning his previously unsettled life around.

And now apparently Bob and James have hit the big time, and a book deal has been agreed! Called A Street Cat Named Bob: How One Man and His Cat Found Hope on the Streets of London, it is due to be published by Hodder & Stoughton in March 2012. And as a further boost for the pair, it's reported that London Transport has presented Bob with his very own special Oyster card, in recognition of his popularity at the Underground stations. (Oyster is a plastic smartcard you can use instead of paper tickets by putting pay-as-you-go credit on it —Ed.)

We acknowledge Annie Mole's Going Underground blog of July 2010 for much of the above information, including a video of James telling Bob's story (or see the clip at YouTube where links to others of Bob will also be seen). There's a wonderful photo of Bob at Flickr, with many more at this group pool.