Meet “A Street Cat Named Bob”

Back in 2007, James Bowen was a struggling street performer who happened to find an injured tabby cat lingering in his London apartment building. He began to care for the cat — who he dubbed Bob — and eventually, they became a duo, with Bob joining Bowen’s busking act. Bowen, who says the cat helped lift him out of drug addition and turn his life around, wrote a book about their story called A Street Cat Named Bob that spent a year on the Sunday Times bestseller list following its March 2012 publication. On July 30, the U.S. version of the book will hit shelves, introducing Americans to a cat who’s already become a celebrity in the U.K.

Nowadays, the duo spend their days going to book signings and doing charity work . Bowen spoke to TIME to help us get better acquainted with this famous feline. Here are some fun facts about the Street named Bob.