A Street Cat Named Bob busker is now homeless

The former busker who discovered fame after hanging up a unprecedented relationship with a stray cat and turning it right into a best-selling memoir is now homeless, it might revealed.

James Bowen, 45,  was within the grips of heroin dependancy and taking part in his guitar in Covent Garden when his touching story of a gathering along with his beloved ginger cat Bob started.

Their unlikely union captured the hearts of thousands and thousands with vacationers and onlookers importing movies of them to YouTube they usually grew to become one thing of a phenomenon.

James’ bond with Bob inspired him to slowly withdraw his methadone and beat his heroin dependancy – and their friendship was become hit ebook ‘A Street Cat Named Bob’ and a movie.

The musician’s transformation was full when he met the Princess of Wales on the movie’s premiere – and by 2016 he had saved sufficient money to buy a three-bedroom indifferent bungalow in Carshalton, Surrey, for £560,000. 

But now he has revealed he’s homeless once more after being compelled to promote the £500,000 home he had purchased for him and his pet, who was killed after being hit by a automotive in 2020.

Speaking to the Sun, James revealed he now has a shih tzu referred to as Chewbacca who protects him like Bob use to.

Shortly after dropping his home, James was attacked, leaving him with a two black eyes, a damaged nostril and a fractured cranium. 

‘It is devastating. Everything Bob and I achieved was stolen from us.

‘All the exhausting work I had finished making an attempt to type my life out has gone down the pan. It’s again to sq. one,’ he informed the newspaper. 

When Bob died years in the past and his writing work dried up, James says he might not afford to maintain up along with his month-to-month mortgage repayments.

Last yr, chatting with MailOnline, he estimates that he has earned £1million within the final 11 years from ebook gross sales and movie proper, which has ‘all gone’.

James says he got here to an association along with his mortgage lender some months in the past to promote the property or he confronted having it repossessed.

He revealed the almost £1m he earned in royalties hasn’t been spent on ‘living his life’ and places his present misfortune right down to others taking benefit as a result of he was sick outfitted to take care of a lot money. ‘I have been screwed over by a lot of people’ he stated.

‘When you have nothing then people see that and they can do what they want.

‘I was not very wise when it came to money and people took advantage of me.

‘I suppose I have earned close to £1m since 2102 but that has all gone and there is nothing left.

‘People have screwed me over because they knew I had nothing.

‘When the books were selling, I had an agent, accountant and publicist. They all took money, and while I may have earned £1m it was over almost 12 years.’

While he offered 9 million books worldwide he estimated that he solely earned between £200,00 -£250,000 from their gross sales.

He stated the co-author of the books Garry Jenkins obtained half of the sale proceeds.

James stated he was paid round £60,000 for the display screen rights to his story – with the money used as a deposit on the brand new build bungalow, which he has referred to as home for the final seven years.

But after failing to pay the mortgage he’s being made homeless after his mortgage supplier efficiently received eviction proceedings three months in the past.

That home has now been offered to a non-public firm for £500,000 – £35,000 lower than he paid for the home in 2016.

Local property brokers have valued the property which is registered in his title and his accountant at over greater than £600,000.

But with piles of garbage stacked exterior the entrance door and the driveway overgrown with weeds it’s not essentially the most enticing wanting home.

The backyard resembles a garbage tip with a damaged bike and discarded washer and overgrown with weeds.

James blamed the cost of residing disaster and rising rates of interest for his issues and stopped his month-to-month funds some months in the past, resulting in eviction proceedings.

He stated his mortgage repayments had gone from £1,800 a month to £2,800 a month whereas his earnings has dwindled to lower than £10,000 a yr.

He has till August 9 to maneuver out, however admits he’s so broke he doesn’t have the money wanted to go away and pay a deposit to lease anyplace earlier than a receives the proceeds from the non-public sale.

James readily admits he had an annual earnings of £100,000 on the peak of his fame from gross sales of his books.

But with the demise of Bob in 2020 which led to a re-lapse into taking heroin and no new books for 5 years his earnings has dried up.

He stated: ‘I guess at the height of my fame I was earning between £50,000 and £100,000. Now it is more like £5,000.

‘The income I had from the books is just few hundred pounds every few months.

‘When Bob died three years ago my agent just dropped me, and I have not done anything since then. I have not written any other books.’

He stated he’s so exhausting up that he depends of meals banks and waits for supermarkets to off load their out-of-date meals.

‘I am just about surviving and there is no more money and all my savings has gone.

‘I still have the house, but that has been sold and when I have paid off the mortgage there will just about be enough to rent somewhere.

‘I can’t go to the council and say I’m homeless as I’ve bought my canine and cat and won’t be parted from them.

‘The house has been sold and once all the paperwork has been completed, I will get the money. The mortgage has to be paid off, its about £430,000 and the rest will help me rent somewhere.

‘Even though I’m in a nasty position I need all of the individuals who have supported me, my followers and people of Bob that I cannot return to taking medication.

‘I am looking forward to moving on with my life. I don’t wish to be homeless, so I’m hoping one thing will flip up.’