NOT ONE, but two Cats Protection rescue cats have been appointed to step into the pawprints of ‘Towser’, the famous mouser at The Famous Grouse distillery in Glenturret, Perthshire.

The Famous Grouse teamed up with leading feline welfare charity, Cats Protection, two months ago in a quest to find the purr-fect cat to lap up the limelight.

Cats Protection was delighted that The Famous Grouse wanted to give a rescue cat a second chance in life. “We have enjoyed working with The Famous Grouse to find a replacement for ‘Towser’ - with thousands of cats in our care, we were confident we could find just the right feline for them, and were thrilled when they decided to adopt two out of the three final contenders. ‘Dylan’ and ‘Brooke’ won’t let them down - they are lovely cats; just purr-fect for the job”, said Cats Protection’s Chief Executive, Helen Ralston.

The search for the right feline saw staff and volunteers at Cats Protection branches and centres throughout Scotland nominate cats in their care who they felt would be best suited to succeed ‘Towser’, who despatched a record-breaking number of mice in her 24 year lifetime. But it was impossible to choose just one cat, as distillery staff fell for the charms of ‘Dylan’ and ‘Brooke’, who both fitted the bill purr-fectly!

With mice no longer a problem at the distillery, the essential c-attitude was a big purr-sonality to include a real love of people for the important “meet and greet” job. The famous whisky distillery welcomes around 120,000 visitors a year from all over the world.

Ginger and white ‘Dylan’, from Cats Protection’s Forfar branch, is a gentle giant who found himself living rough after his owner sadly died. According to branch volunteers, he is a very gregarious fellow who just loves being the centre of attention.

Former stray, ‘Brooke’, a semi-longhaired black and white female from Cats Protection’s Cardyke Centre, near Glasgow, also has a lovely temperament, which made her a firm favourite with staff and volunteers.

The short list of three feline finalists included ‘Jet Li’ from Cardyke Centre in Glasgow. A strikingly handsome chap. ‘Jet Li’ is a friendly boy, though staff at the centre thought he might be feral when the stray first arrived and escaped into the centre’s grounds. The good news is that ‘Jet Li’ has also found a loving home with an employee of The Famous Grouse.

“We are delighted to finally have not one, but two cats in position at the distillery, and we are sure the charismatic ‘Dylan’ and the beautiful ‘Brooke’ will soon be firm favourites. ‘Dylan’ has already thrown himself into the spirit of things, clearly keen to make a good impression in his first days in the job and helping our team here extend a very warm welcome to our visitors”, said Carol McLaren of The Famous Grouse.

Anyone interested in offering a home to a CP rescue cat is urged to contact CP’s Helpline on 08702 099 099. Alternatively, log onto www.cats.org.uk or e-mail helpline@cats.org.uk