Humbert the cat remembered by his Montreal community as 'man of the people'
Humbert was also known as Bodega cat after he set up shop in an NDG dépanneur
An unusual memorial was held on Sunday in Montreal's Notre-Dame-de-Grâce neighourhood to remember a very special, and furry, resident who died in January after being hit by a car.
Humbert — or Bodega cat as he was also known — moved to the neighbourhood in 2013 after he was adopted from the SPCA by John Jordan as a two-year-old stray cat.
Sunday, marked his 12th adoption day anniversary.
For the occasion, an a cappella group sang a cat-themed repertoire and residents crowded the sidewalk to take in the show and share their memories.
Jordan, who described himself as Humbert's roommate, said it didn't take long for Humbert to make friends.
"He was super affectionate with everyone and he really got into peoples hearts," he said.
"[He was] just a man of the people ... friendly, outgoing, social and an ambassador of feline friendship."
Humbert, a tiger tabby, became especially well-known in the neighbourhood after he decided to set up shop in a dépanneur located underneath an apartment block on the corner of Harvard Avenue and Sherbrooke Street West.
"He'd be in and out of the dep and he'd wait at the door for you to actually open it for him," said Michelle Jetté, who attended Sunday's gathering.
The friendly feline, she said, made quite an impression.
"Humbert was like the chillest cat," she said. "He was so unbothered by life, I wish I could live my life like that cat."
Humbert gained even more notoriety when he ran for MP in the 2015 federal election in what started out as a joke (he was not on the ballot). There's even an outdoor art gallery dedicated to him steps away from the dépanneur.
"He acted like he owned the place," recounted Jenny Jonasson. "I think he actually did own this whole block. He was NDG."
It's hard to say exactly how many people Humbert touched, but it's safe to say that his memory lives on.
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With files from Gabriel Guindi