Bowen now dedicates his time to helping numerous charities that involve homelessness, literacy and animal welfare.

In 1997, aged 17, he moved back to the United Kingdom to seek his fortune, desperately trying to make something of himself while he stayed with his half-sister and her husband in London.

To make sure the cat received the full two-week course of medication, Bowen took him in for a time, while he continued to look for the stray's owner.

[5] In spring 2007, Bowen realised he wanted to better himself for the sake of Bob and he decided to quit the heroin he was on and go onto a methadone programme.

The public reaction was positive and the pair became locally well known, their visibility increasing still further when Bowen began selling The Big Issue.

The public began uploading videos of Bowen and Bob to YouTube and tourists would visit Covent Garden to see them.

[7] On 13 June 2020, Bob was fed in the kitchen of their home in Surrey and last seen at approximately 11:00 p.m., before Bowen noticed he was missing half an hour later.

[8] On Monday 15 June 2020, two days after going missing, Bob was found dead at the side of a road around half a mile from his home and taken to a nearby vet's practice.

Bowen and Bob's public appearances attracted the attention of the Islington Tribune, which first published his story in September 2010.

[13] This was read by Mary Pachnos, the literary agent responsible for the UK rights to John Grogan's Marley and Me, who introduced Bowen to the writer Garry Jenkins.

Since its publication the book has sold over 1 million copies in the UK alone,[14] has been translated into 30 languages and spent over 76 weeks at the top of The Sunday Times' bestseller list in both its hardback and paperback editions.

[15] A Street Cat Named Bob: And How He Saved My Life was published in the US on 30 July 2013 and entered The New York Times' best-seller list at No 7.

[14] In August 2015, Variety announced that Luke Treadaway was to star in the film and that Roger Spottiswoode was to direct, with shooting in London to begin in October.

My Name is Bob is a picture book for young children, written by Bowen with Garry Jenkins and illustrated by Gerald Kelley, published by Random House in the UK in April 2014.

According to publishers Hodder & Stoughton, the book reveals "how Bob helped James through one of his toughest times – providing strength, friendship and inspiration but also teaching him important lessons about the true meaning of Christmas along the way."

In October 2019, it was announced that a film adaptation of the book, directed by Charles Martin Smith and written by Garry Jenkins, would be going into production in late 2019 with a view to a cinema release in 2020.

Bob to the Rescue is a second children's picture book, written again with Garry Jenkins and illustrated by Gerald Kelley.

[34][35] A Street Cat Named Bob was nominated for the UK's National Book Awards in the Popular Non-Fiction category in November 2012.