The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)

Famous cat’ s former home is up for sale

- JACK MCKEOWN

The home of Scotland’s most famous cat has gone on sale. Hamish Mchamish was a beloved character in St Andrews during his 15 year life.

The ginger cat roamed the town every day, posing for pictures with tourists.

From shops to student flats, his daily meandering­s saw him explore nooks and crannies in the Fife coastal town.

A Hamish Mchamish Facebook profile was set up, with messages purportedl­y composed by the cat recounting his daily adventures.

A local bookshop had a “Hamish recommends” section with seafood cookbooks and fiction featuring cats.

In 2012 Hamish went from local to internatio­nal fame with the publicatio­n of a book, Hamish Mchamish Of St Andrews: Cool Cat About Town.

Eight years later, in 2020, Florida-based Scottish author and artist Robert

Lewis Heron penned a series of illustrate­d stories about the adventures of Hamish and his friends, the local children of St Andrews.

Hamish died in 2014 aged 15.

Such was his popularity, local people rallied around to raise money for a lasting tribute, and a statue was unveiled in his honour by Fife Provost Jim Leishman in the town’s Church Square.

Now Hamish Mchamish’s former home has gone on

sale. The cat was never famed for being in his home, but he did ostensibly live at 4 Loudens Close.

Just off South Street, in the heart of St Andrews, the B-listed house has two

bedrooms, both with ensuite shower rooms, and a separate studio apartment with its own entrance. The current owners operate the studio as an Airbnb called The Wee Room.

The garden has a headstone that provides a fitting memorial to Hamish.

4 Loudens Close, St Andrews, is on sale for offers over £695,000.

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 ?? ?? POPULAR: Images of the property, and Debbie Maccallum, trustee of the Hamish Foundation, beside the statue of the St Andrews cat.
POPULAR: Images of the property, and Debbie Maccallum, trustee of the Hamish Foundation, beside the statue of the St Andrews cat.

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