I made £1million and owned a £500k house thanks to my famous cat – now I’m going homeless AGAIN
A MAN who made £1million and lived in a plus house thanks to his famous cat is now left homeless again.
James Bowen, the author of best-selling book A Street Cat Named Bob, says he’s on the verge of being evicted from his £500,000 home because he can’t pay soaring mortgage payments.
4
4
The former busker rose to fame through the stray cat he looked after, whom he named Bob while living on the streets, and eventually turned into a popular book.
His fame even got him to meet the Princess of Wales.
Bowen told that Daily Mail: “I had to sell my house because mortgage rates have skyrocketed and I can no longer afford to own this house.”
He revealed he could be homeless again as early as August 9.
Bowen said: “The problem is that I don’t get my money until I’ve left the house empty and tidy. I don’t even have the money to rent a temporary apartment until I find a new home, which is myself, my four cats and Chewbie [his shih tzu dog] will be homeless on the 9th while we wait for some money to be available after the mortgage is paid off.”
The 44-year-old former heroin addict has asked online for urgent financial help, adding that anyone who helped would get their money back once the home sale was complete.
He said, “I swear by Bob’s immortal soul, your good deed will be rewarded and repaid as soon as I am able.”
Bowen added that he couldn’t afford to pay a moving company to vacate his home and the cost of temporary storage because he didn’t have the money.
He befriended the red-haired cat, whom he named Bob, while touring London’s Covent Garden with his guitar.
The cute cat quickly became an attraction for both tourists and passers-by, who uploaded videos of the couple to YouTube and they became a huge hit online.
His bond with Bob helped Bowen slowly wean off methadone and overcome his drug problem.
He previously blamed Bob for helping him overcome his addiction, saying, “Doing drugs is a selfish thing, Bob gave me something else to focus on.”
But tragedy struck in June 2020 when 14-year-old Bob was fatally run over and Bowen later admitted to using drugs again.
He told The Sun in February this year: “When Bob died he was the love of my life.
“He was my best friend and I cried with pain and sorrow for months.
“I remember having suicidal thoughts. I felt like I wanted it to end. I started looking for a way out again and started using heroin again.”
It cost him his planned marriage to his fiancée Monika Hertes and almost his “mind”.
For the past summer, he has been using heroin every day and has returned to the state he was in before he met Bob.
However, he says he has been clean since the New Year.
The story of his beloved cat became the bestseller A Street Cat Named Bob in 2010, selling more than a million copies in the UK and hitting bestseller lists worldwide.
It later became a hit film, which premiered in 2016 in the presence of Kate, now Princess of Wales.
Bowen said: “She scratched Bob’s ears. He knew he was in the presence of important people. We talked a little. She does an incredible job.”
Since 2012 he has published six bestselling books about his life and adventures with Bob.
4
4