In the middle of them all sits a cat wearing a jaunty Union Jack neckerchief. Surrounded by a crowd of 30 open-mouthed spectators, Bob, a tubby ginger tom, smiles beatifically.
Next to him, his owner James Bowen stands with his battered acoustic guitar, belting out a series of Oasis songs. Every now and then, he stops playing and bends down to Bob. ‘Come on, Bob, high-five!’ he says.
Bob twitches his whiskers, raises a paw, and taps James’s outstretched hand. The crowd coos. A smart-looking lady in a pink dress and jacket pops a £20 note in the cap at Bob’s feet.
It’s not every day that you see a cat sitting calmly in Central London, apparently unfazed by the blaring sirens, passing cars and general hubbub — but Bob is no ordinary cat.
Bob, you see, is a star. He has his own Twitter account (with 12,000 followers), his own Facebook page, even his own fan group, the Street Cats, who send him photos, scrapbooks and presents.
Oh yes, he also has his own bestseller and is in ‘talks’ with a Hollywood agent about taking his story to the big screen. Well, it’s Bob’s owner, James, who is leading the discussions, but he’s in no doubt that he owes it all to his cat.
James’s book, A Street Cat Named Bob, a feelgood story that chronicles how the 33-year-old busker and one-time homeless heroin-addict turned his life around with the help of his cat, has sold more than 250,000 copies and been translated into 18 different languages.
So far, the book has made James around £30,000 — a figure that is likely to rocket now there’s a film on the horizon.
Mary Panchos, the literary agent who discovered James and Bob selling The Big Issue, previously brokered the film deal for Marley & Me, a book about a mischievous dog who forms a special bond with his human family. The film version, starring Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston, made almost $15 million on its first day.
source: dailymail
Posts
