3,000 try to get claws on job running island cat sanctuary

THE job advertisement on Facebook sounded almost too good to be true.

A living wage, a car, a lovely house to live in – bills paid – with a terrace overlooking the Aegean Sea, just a short walk from a pristine beach on the Greek island of Syros.

The job? Caring for up to 70 cats, amounting to four hours of work a day. Nearly 1,000 Britons have applied for the role after the announcement posted on Facebook last week by Joan Bowell, a cat sanctuary owner, went viral.

“We were doing a quiet thing on a Greek island – but no more,” Mrs Bowell’s husband, Richard, 65, told The Daily Telegraph.

Mrs Bowell, who is British, and Mr Bowell, from Denmark, moved to Syros seven years ago. They found kittens thrown away in garbage cans, bony cats relying on scraps, and injured cats that needed care. The couple began taking in strays and working with local vets to improve the health of the village cat colony and the overall island population. They backed a sterilisation project, funded dental operations, had diseased eyes removed, and nursed motherless kittens through the night.

“Now you hardly see distressed cats on Syros,” Mr Bowell said. “It all started here.” Today, the sanctuary is home to between 55 and 70 cats.

In the autumn, the couple plan to return New York, where Mr Bowell has work commitments with the United Nations. They have now drafted five volunteers to narrow down the 3,000 applications from people offering to take their place to a pool of 50-100.

The position comes with a salary up to €600 (£536) a month, with bills, housing and veterinary expenses paid, starting Nov 1, after a voluntary twoweek transition period in October.