Hamish McHamish (1999 – 11 September 2014) was a ginger cat that lived with Ms Marianne Baird, a retired BBC producer,. At the tender age of one year old he decided to leave her and roamed the streets and alleys of St. Andrews, Fife. He did not need money as the residents of that fair city were only too glad to feed him when he appeared on their doorsteps. Though he loved the nomadic life, Ms Bard ensured the ginger cat had a yearly check-up with a vet.
He came to national and international prominence after the publication of a book entitled Hamish McHamish of St Andrews: Cool Cat About Town.
Hamish built up a following on social media, with a dedicated Facebook page[ and Twitter account set up by fans.
When he passed away at the ripe old age of 14 years old, Flora Selwyn, editor of the St Andrews in Focus magazine, launched a fundraising drive among locals. .£5,000 was raised through public donations and grants from the Community Council, the Community Trust, and the R&A. Local stonemason Colin Sweeney dedicated time to make the plinth and the celebratory event to mark the unveiling is being funded by Fife Council. The statue, which as designed by David Annand, was revealed by the Provost of Fife, Jim Leishman in the town’s Church Square on Saturday 5 April.
Hamish McHamish, the town cat, is St.Andrew’s answer to Edinburgh’s Greyfriars Bobby,. the Edinburgh Skye terrier reputed to have sat by his owner’s grave daily for 14 years.. He was not commemorated until a year after his death in 1872.
Here’s a fiction book about cats:
THE HAPPY CAT’S DETECTIVE –
SCRIBBLING TALES 