Humbert the cat remembered by his Montreal community as 'man of the people'

Annabelle Olivier · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 22, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 12 minutes ago

An antithetic memorial was held connected Sunday successful Montreal's Notre-Dame-de-Grâce neighourhood to retrieve a precise special, and furry, nonmigratory who died successful January aft being deed by a car.

Humbert — oregon Bodega feline arsenic helium was besides known — moved to the neighbourhood successful 2013 aft helium was adopted from the SPCA by John Jordan arsenic a two-year-old stray cat.

Sunday, marked his 12th adoption time anniversary.

For the occasion, an a cappella radical sang a cat-themed repertoire and residents crowded the sidewalk to instrumentality successful the amusement and stock their memories.

Jordan, who described himself arsenic Humbert's roommate, said it didn't instrumentality agelong for Humbert to marque friends.

"He was ace affectionate with everyone and helium truly got into peoples hearts," helium said. 

"[He was] just a antheral of the radical ... friendly, outgoing, societal and an ambassador of feline friendship."

Humbert, a tiger tabby,  became particularly well-known successful the neighbourhood aft helium decided to acceptable up store successful a dépanneur located underneath an flat artifact connected the corner of Harvard Avenue and Sherbrooke Street West.

"He'd beryllium successful and retired of the dep and he'd hold astatine the doorway for you to really unfastened it for him," said Michelle Jetté, who attended Sunday's gathering. 

The affable feline, she said, made rather an impression.

"Humbert was similar the chillest cat," she said. "He was truthful unbothered by life, I privation I could unrecorded my beingness similar that cat."

Humbert gained adjacent much notoriety erstwhile helium ran for MP successful the 2015 national predetermination successful what started retired arsenic a gag (he was not connected the ballot). There's adjacent an outdoor creation assemblage dedicated to him steps distant from the dépanneur. 

"He acted similar helium owned the place,"  recounted Jenny Jonasson. "I deliberation helium really did ain this full block. He was NDG."

It's hard to accidental precisely however galore radical Humbert touched, but it's harmless to accidental that his representation lives on.