A SHORT-LIST of contenders to follow in the paw prints of Towser, the record-breaking mouser at Scotland’s oldest working distillery, has been identified.

Nine candidates for the post have been tracked down after a Scotland-wide search of rescue centres run by Cats Protection.

Among the finalists are 17-year-old Holly, one-eyed Hannah and former feral feline Jet Li.

Glenturret distillery, home of The Famous Grouse brand near Crieff, was the birthplace and long-term residence of the world-famous Towser, who killed 28,899 mice in her 24-year lifetime.

The fluffy, tortoiseshell cat became legendary around the globe and management at The Famous Grouse Experience put up a bronze statue at the distillery to pay tribute to the special cat.

The contentment of the distillery cat featured in the £2.5 million development plans for The Famous Grouse Experience, which opened at Glenturret in June 2002. Architects included a cat flap to ensure the hard- working cat had 24-hour access to her warm still house bed.

Carol McLaren of The Famous Grouse said, “We have been working with the charity Cats Protection which finds new homes for thousands of cats each year and staff at their Scottish centres have put forward the cats they feel would be best suited to the distillery. The nine cats which have made it through to the final interview stage are all real characters and each has fallen on bad times through no fault of its own.

“We need a cat which is out-going enough to welcome our visitors from all over the world and he or she should enjoy being the centre of attention. Mousing ability would be an advantage but is not essential—distilleries are much more mouse-free these days.

“We have been cat-less at the distillery for several months and all our team are really looking forward to welcoming their new resident but it’s going to be very hard to make the final decision.”