A Street Cat Named Bob

And How He Saved My Life

By: James Bowen

Narrated by: Kristopher Milnes

Length: 6 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

When street musician James Bowen found an injured cat curled up in the hallway of his apartment building, he had no idea how much his life was about to change. James was living hand to mouth on the streets of London, barely making enough money to feed himself - the last thing he needed was a pet. Yet, James couldn't resist helping the strikingly intelligent, but very sick animal, whom he named Bob. He slowly nursed Bob back to health and then sent the cat on his way, never imagining that he would see him again. But Bob had other ideas.

©2012 James Bowen and Garry Jenkins (P)2012 Hachette Audio

Heartwarming and Inspiring

I recently finished listening for the first time to the audiobook version of A STREET CAT NAMED BOB: AND HOW HE SAVED MY LIFE, and also the follow up book THE WORLD ACCORDING TO BOB.

I am a cat lover and expected this to be mostly cute stories about Bob himself. There were those. However, to my surprise, I found myself very moved by James Bowen’s story of overcoming homelessness and drug addiction. After listening to the book, I had a much greater awareness and much deeper compassion for those who are homeless, whether human or animal, and to those who are struggling to overcome addictions.

It is no small thing to find one’s purpose in life. To do that, one has to know what love is, who and what is worth loving, and be able to accept love. That means also being able to love oneself. It was a real joy to see how Bob helped James to find his purpose and to live it out. To move others to be more loving, as James moved me toward the homeless and the addicted, is the ultimate purpose of all of our lives. Still, as special as Bob is, Bob could not make decisions for James. Only James could and did do that. James' honesty about the difficulty that he had in making good life decisions and sticking to them, and how Bob helped him to do that was what made this book so enlightening and inspiring.

I would highly recommend reading both of these two books, as THE WORLD ACCORDING TO BOB answered alot of questions that I had at the end of A STREET CAT NAMED BOB. STREET CAT ends just before James and Bob begin their careers and authors and spokesmen for the homeless. THE WORLD picks up with how they began that career, how it changed their lives, and what their lives are now like.

a heart warming story

I loved this book and the movie. I now have my book club reading it.

The Irreplacable Bond Between Animal & Man

I really enjoyed this book. Non-fiction and Biographies can be powerful things and this book was powerful because it clearly defines the disease of addiction and the power of bonds

I am proud of this guy and I am grateful for his faithful companion. Be prepared for a some deep feelings and the loving embrace that is Bob and the earthly struggle of man names James Bowen

A story I will keep near my heart always !

I am very impressed with this life story ; for me I relate to the main character James somewhat and I am very happy that Bob found James. I recommend this book for all my friends and anyone that would open their heart to a cat .

I love Bob!

I enjoyed this book. The narration was flawless. I will buy other audio books by James Bowen.

Loved it!

Bob drew me in and James' storytelling kept me engaged. A great audio book fir commuting.

Loved every chapter!

I believe you’ll really treasure this story about James and Bob. James tells his story of their life on the streets and their affection for one another in such a beautiful yet lighthearted way. I enjoy your wit and accents, James and Kristopher! I found myself laughing out loud. Your humility is tremendous. So well done!

A great story

I am a dog man but this man's story is proof positive what unconditional love can do.

Pets are people too.

Bob is amazing. Animals can truly save lives. My dogs help me get through each day.

A story of hope

Loved this story. I've apparently listened to it before, but it must have been running while I was sleeping. This time, I listened while I made breakfast or waited somewhere. I found that James' story was compelling. I bought this because I love cats, but after listening, it helped me understand people in James' situation. The story itself, with the scares and concerns that arise from their journey, had me "yelling at the screen" at times with "Oh Nooo!!!!". If I ever make it to London, I hope to find some of the people like those that were mentioned in the book, the cat lovers, and those who have a heart for people in James' situation.