A street cat named Bob by James Bowen

Life was not going too great for James, it wasn't all bad, but life is challenging when you are a recovering drug addict and making a hand to mouth existence busking on the streets.  It seems like a bleak place to start a story, but into this story comes a ginger street cat that desperately needs some help.  Barely able to take care of his own needs, James takes on the responsibility of nursing the cat back to health with plans to return him to the streets once he is happy and whole again - but the cat has other ideas.  Christened Bob, the cat makes himself at home and has a huge impact on James and the people he meets.

I picked up A street cat named Bob on the recommendation of one of the people who posted a comment on an earlier post on this blog, thinking it would be like a lot of other books of this type, a little bit of entertainment with some serious bits and some fluffy bits, but it is much more than that.  Books about the human companion animal bond offer a view into someone's life, a personal touch about how animals make an life changing impact on people.  This book is more than just that, it is a very personal story about a life that has gone off the rails, a life that is slowly coming back together and into focus, a life that just needed a little push to come all the way back over to being a bit more "normal".

I loved this book, Bob is such a character, he reminds me a lot of my own ginger ninja Loki and the antics he gets up to, the attitude of being a cat who can go where ever he wants.  I was also grateful to see a story about a cat that formed such a deep relationship of trust and love with his person, as cats often get the bad reputation of being loners that will abandon their home if there is something better on the horizon.  I also admired the fact that James was so willing to share the dark corners of his life, his imperfections, and his failures.  This book wont be to everyone's taste, but if you love a good read about the close relationship between people and their companion animals then you should enjoy A street cat named Bob.

If you like this book then try:

• A cat called Norton: the true story of an extraordinary cat and his imperfect human by Peter Gethers
• A friend like Henry by Nuala Gardner
• Dewey: The small-town library cat who touched the world by Vicki Myron & Bret Witter
• Homer's odyssey: A fearless feline tale, or how I learned about love and life with a blind wonder cat by Gwen Cooper
• Making the rounds with Oscar by David Dosa
• Norton, the loveable cat who travelled the world by Peter Gethers
• Cowboy & Wills by Monica Holloway
• Cleo: The cat who mended a family by Helen Brown
• The dog who rescues cats by Philip Gonzalez

Reviewed by Brilla