A Sad End For A Beloved Kitten
Peat the kitten quickly made a name for himself at the Glenturret Distillery in Scotland.
Officially, his job was to kill the mice attracted to the grain used in the making of whisky. And he had big paws to fill. One of his predecessors at the distillery, Towser the Mouser, is in the Guinness Book of World Records, credited with killing 28,899 mice.
There aren't many mice around the distillery anymore, but the photogenic Peat has been warming hearts with his appearances in public relations photos for Scotland's oldest distillery.
So much so that NPR featured Peat in a story Tuesday about the role that felines have played at distilleries over the years.
But on Wednesday, Glenturret announced that Peat had died after he was found on the side of the road Monday. He was apparently hit by a car, according to the distillery.
NPR wasn't aware of Peat's accident until the distillery made the announcement Wednesday.
"He was inquisitive, fearless and a social cat, and we will all miss him terribly," said Lesley Williamson, the business development manager of The Famous Grouse Experience. "The Glenturret Distillery team are heartbroken."
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Transcript
ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:
And now a sad update to yesterday's story about distillery cats. Ari Shapiro introduced us to Peat, the Glenturret Distillery cat. He was recently given the title of official mouser.
AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:
This morning, Glenturret announced that Peat has died. He was apparently hit by car on Monday. He was 6 months old. Distillery manager Neil Cameron told Ari he fell for the kitten from the start.
NEIL CAMERON: Gave him a few strokes and thought he was a friendly-looking cat - held him for a wee while and decided right, he's the one.
SIEGEL: Peat had big paw prints to fill, but he took to his duties with a gusto, and he charmed visitors. He even tested his mousing abilities on our producer's microphone.
CORNISH: The Internet has already been chiming in with what to name Peat's successor. And among the suggestions...
SIEGEL: Repeat. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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