Whisky bosses search for new cat

A statue has been erected in Towser's honour

Distillery chiefs are searching for a new mouse catcher to replace their record-breaking cat who died aged 24.

It will be a hard act to follow, as Towser's Guinness Book of Records tally of 30,000 mice still stands.

A bronze statue was erected in his honour at the Famous Grouse Glenturret plant at Crieff in Perthshire.

Distillery bosses are keen to recruit another cat to keep mice at bay and are asking the Cat Protection charity to help them find a replacement.

Cat psychologist

Carol McLaren, spokeswoman for the distillery - which attracts 120,000 visitors per year - said: "We've even consulted a cat psychologist, as we knew it wasn't going to be easy to find a successor to Towser, who was such a special cat.

"The story goes that Towser's incredible mousing prowess was the result of a tiny nip being added to his milk each night, but we don't have any scientific proof to back this up and we certainly wouldn't advise this to anyone whose cat is under-performing in terms of vermin control".

Charity workers at Cat Protection find homes for 60,000 cats per year.