This week’s cat story is about a feline with extraordinary skill in catching mice. Towser the Cat was a long haired tortoiseshell that lived in the Scottish Glenturret Distillery. In her nearly 24 years as a resident at the distillery, Towser caught a Guinness World Record 28,899 mice!
It’s not unusual for distilleries to have cats in residence to help keep the mouse population in check. The large amounts of barley used to make the beverages attracts large amounts of mice. Although there are many cats helping in distilleries, none of them come close to catching the average of three mice per day attributed to Towser.
Her talent made her a celebrity, she received fan mail, made several television appearances and was a very popular character for photo opportunities with distillery visitors. After Towser passed away, another cat named Amber replaced her but was reported to have never killed a single mouse. After Amber’s passing in 2004, a country wide talent search took place, and a former stray cat named Brooke was selected as the next Glenturret cat.
Brooke likes to pose for pictures with distillery visitors, but prefers sunbathing to catching mice. Improvements in grain storage techniques have helped greatly reduce the number of mice, leaving Brooke lots of time for photo opportunities.
Staffers at the distillery have speculated on how it is Towser caught so many mice. Possibly the best theory is that Towser had a bowl of milk every evening infused with a bit of the distillery’s product, and since she regularly sampled the product, she knew what she was fighting for!
Do you have a extraordinary cat story you’d like to share? Please email me at [email protected].
Source: 100 Cats Who Changed Civilization by Sam Stall
Written by Karen
