By Dave Lord

THE HUNT is on to find a cat to follow in the pawsteps of one of Scotland’s most famous and fearless felines.

A moggy with a real desire to lap-up the limelight will be required to fill the (puss-in) boots of Towser, the record-breaking mouser of Glenturret Distillery, near Crieff, in Perthshire.

Towser is the Guinness world record holder for mousing, having slain 28,899 mice—an incredible average of three a day—during his 24-year life at Glenturret, Scotland’s oldest working distillery.

A bronze statue to commemorate the life of the cat has been put in place at his favourite spot at the distillery, home to The Famous Grouse, which welcomes 120,000 visitors a year.

The distillery team would like to provide a home to a rescue cat and have been in touch with Cat Protection for advice on how to find a moggy with the right personality for the fame that inevitably accompanies such a high profile position.

Carol McLaren, of The Famous Grouse, said staff would stop at nothing to find the right cat for the job.

“We have even consulted a cat psychologist as we knew it would not to be easy to find a successor to Towser,” she explained.

“He was such a special cat and is held in huge affection by whisky enthusiasts all over the world.”

Carol said his successor had better be ready to step into the limelight.

“Overseas fans regularly sent Towser parcels of caviar, and we had a Japanese film crew spend an entire day filming here last year for a programme to pay tribute to the remarkable cat,” she commented.

The contentment of the distillery cat even featured in the £2.5 million development plans for The Famous Grouse Experience, which opened at Glenturret in June 2002.

A cat-flap was installed at the still-house to ensure the resident feline would have 24-hour access to his warm bed at night.

“The story goes that Towser’s incredible mousing prowess was the result of a tiny nip of The Famous Grouse being added to his milk each night,” Carol added.