August 12, 2018

"A job at a cat sanctuary on the idyllic Greek island of Syros has come up, complete with accommodation, views of the Aegean Sea and - currently - 55 feline friends."

"[Sanctuary owner Joan] Bowell, an artist, is looking for someone over the age of 45, who is not only capable of loving the cats, but also knows how to 'trap or handle a feral or non-sociable cat.' That means knowledge of 'cats' psychology' as well as good 'cat-whispering skills' are vital for the successful applicant." BBC reports.

From the Facebook page:

52 comments:

Dave Begley said...

Translation: Crazy cat lady looking for equally loony successor.

Phil 314 said...


I suspect there are more than 55 cats ( if not now, then in the future)

Humperdink said...

Oh we have just the lady 2 miles down our dirt road. Unfortunately, in addition to her 40 felines, she would bring her 12 dogs (one of which I hit with my motorcycle).

Fernandinande said...

"Meet Chili the kitten. He was rescued by a Danish-born woman named Joan Bowell in Greece after she heard the cat crying in a bamboo field."

Chili the kitten looks like he just popped out of someone's chest.

Bad Lieutenant said...

But has the island for room for millions of broken American women?

Anonymous said...

The human maternal instinct can be perverted in more depraved and dangerous ways, but none weirder or more full of pathos than catladyhood.

Becoming a doglady, I can almost understand. The nature of dogs suits itself to human social structures and relationships. Dogs reciprocate. But cats? It's like these women have transferred their predilection for falling for jerks who just use them to a non-human animal.

Oso Negro said...

Maybe that lady who bonded with the mountain lion behind her sofa should apply.

Birkel said...

Be worried about the Trojan Cat.

Kate said...

My SiL, in her late 50s, housesits a magnificent home in the Hollywood Hills. She's single, professional, no children, and clean. The woman who owns the house is the same. A whole cottage industry is out there for women of a certain age and character.

Even she might be daunted by 55 cats, though.

Ralph L said...

In the 90's, my sister had scores of mostly feral cats. They'd get infections in the summer, and most of the kittens would die. She's down to one now, so there is hope.

At my former job, we had up to 5 office cats in 3 rooms and 30+ ferals in an unused shed. Around $25/week to feed them all. It all started with Pancake, who pranced into the office 20 years ago.

FIDO said...

Luckily, we have a plethora of applicants in every Gender Studies department across our great nation.

Quaestor said...

Looks like a perfect situation for a large aerial predator.

Michael K said...

Here's a potential addition to the shelter.

Leslie Graves said...

In the U.S., I’m pretty sure that specifying that the job applicant must be over 45 runs afoul of anti-discrimination laws. Those laws wouldn’t apply, though, on the Greek island of Syros.

Trumpit said...

"Translation: Crazy cat lady looking for equally loony successor."

Translation: Nothing like a sexist, misogynistic, and crazy anti-feline comment to start off a Sunday morning. A sense of propriety went out the window when Trump weaponized viagra to achieve an erection victory in 2016. Anything goes.

Darrell said...

Trumpit should start swimming now.

Henry said...

I'd do it, if I wasn't employed.

gspencer said...

Found her,

https://simpsonswiki.com/wiki/Crazy_Cat_Lady

Yes, it will be a female,

annteeva said...

I definitely fall into the CCL catagory and I love that video Michael K. Burst out laughing in the coffee shop.

Bay Area Guy said...

Hillary’s future political kingdom........

Ann Althouse said...

Does a "crazy cat lady" know how to "'trap or handle a feral or non-sociable cat"?

Seems like an effort to get cheap labor — make the job seem like an endless vacation.

Jaq said...

I know of a guy in the Adirondacks who bought a place with a couple dozen cats, it took him a few days to shoot them all. He viewed them as a bonus. I guess he is the contrapositive of the “crazy cat lady,” the “semi-hermit gun guy."

That’s a true story Trumpit. I never said I approved, but I have to say that I don’t heartily disapprove either. I disapprove more of the hunters who wipe out whole packs of coy dogs, creatures which at least keep down the deer (read wild goats who eat almost anything that grows)and Canada goose population.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

I'll take the bullet.

Michael K said...

"I love that video Michael K. Burst out laughing in the coffee shop."

I have a whole section of my own blog to save stuff like that.

FullMoon said...
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Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
FullMoon said...

America's Got Talent has an act with trained cats that actually do what they are told ,mostly. Amazing.
Mike K's vid, guy learned not to collar a cat that does not care to be collared, pretty dang funny.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

Fernand... Great link -thanks.

Kittens hugging each other photo. A+

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

You don't need to move to Greece to rescue feral cats. They are everywhere.

The local gal who runs Wild At Heart taught me how to trap and now I occasionally help her. The trapped ferals go straight to the Humane Society where they are FIXED and given a round of shots. Top of the ear is snipped as an indicator so they are not re-trapped. The older cats are fixed and re-released where they were trapped. It happens very quickly with the cat being re-released within about 1-2 days.
Age note* After about age 8-10 months, a switch goes off and the cat is officially feral. It is difficult to socialize a feral cat.
If they are under age 8-10 months, the kittens can be socialized and often can be placed in the adoption pool at the shelter.

Ignorance is Bliss said...

High-functioning toxoplasmosis

Trumpit said...

@tim_in_vermont,

With every violent, and deplorable comment you make, you spoil my image of Vermont as a place of natural beauty, ruggedness, self-reliance, human advancement & achievement. Fortunately, Vermont is home to progressive thought exemplified by Senator Bernie Sanders.

I would raze the trailer parks in Vermont where backward trolls like you grow dirt, and spew filth. In its place, I'd plant a forest of maple trees, and invite wildlife to come back. I'd put you, your guns, and your fellow traveler on a Greyhound bus to Texas where you will feel right at home. It is best to concentrate all the deplorables in one desertic, uncultivated place to spare the rest of the country your foul presence. You can grow rocks together for all I care.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

You can call me ToxoplasmamaCrazyCatLady all day long. I'd move to Greece and hang with pussy and exit the rat race in a second.

Ralph L said...

Half the Cat Channel videos feature owners cackling at their cats for clumsiness. Then you have to wonder how they knew to tape the cat jumping in the tub.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

People who get toxoplasmosis have poor hygiene.

btw- why is it OK for dogs to crap and piss on my lawn?

I like dogs - but what is this social construct we've created where walking a dog thru the neighborhood so that dog can crap and piss on a other lawns - what is that? It's rude. and gross.

Can I go to your house and crap on your lawn? I promise to pick it up.

Robert Cook said...

"Translation: Crazy cat lady looking for equally loony successor."

I can think of many less desirable living situations.

"Becoming a doglady, I can almost understand. The nature of dogs suits itself to human social structures and relationships. Dogs reciprocate. But cats? It's like these women have transferred their predilection for falling for jerks who just use them to a non-human animal."

If you think cats can't or don't reciprocate love, you simply haven't spent enough time with them.

Trumpit said...


"Can I go to your house and crap on your lawn?" Don't you do that with every comment you make?

Wince said...

Cat, inflatable gorilla - whatever.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

Trumpit - You would know, proggy terrorist.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

Trumpit - Hillary lost. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Eat the Schadenfreude

Anonymous said...

Cookie: If you think cats can't or don't reciprocate love, you simply haven't spent enough time with them.

I own my anti-cat bigotry without shame.

I got nothin' against cats as cats, they're very handsome animals, and their behavior is interesting to observe. Like all the other non-people animals I respect who share my environment - bunnies, deer, birds of all kinds, mustelids, foxes, etc. I just don't think they belong in people households (people being humans and dogs).

I have met one lovable, loving cat in my life. He was a semi-feral, unneutered tom that my mother (not at all a cat-liker, let alone a cat-lover) took a shine to and started feeding occasionally, on the understanding that he was *not* her house cat, and that they could have a mutually enjoyable, no-strings friendship as long they respected each other's boundaries and independence.

He had a massive ruff, various interesting scars from his ronin lifestyle, and the sweetest temperament (at least around my mother) of any domestic (or quasi-domestic, in his case) animal I have ever met.

annteeva said...

I don't understand why it has to be either or. I TNR but I know of people who trap and put down cats that are on their property as well as one gentleman who, like Tim's friend, shoots cats he finds on his property. As long as a person isn't knowingly adding to an animal's suffering, all of these are solutions to a very tough problem.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

Some assholes with guns shot and killed two mountain goats on the top of Quandary peak about a month back. Reason? There is no reason.

Some jerks just like to kill stuff for fun.

buwaya said...

Ruggedly independent places need to be populated with dangerous people.

Independence=danger, no other way, they go together. The hill tribes are always turbulent. You deal with turbulent, or you kill off the hill tribes (and good luck with that).

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

I live in Doggie utopia. Everyone has dogs in this town and they are worshiped to the hilt. I don't have an issue with it. Except for the non-stop bathroom breaks on my lawn. Many people rescue dogs and dogs need rescuing. We have so many regulations and laws - how about we spread it around with a shout-out to the animals we call our pets? Put puppy mills out of business?

Cats get the short end of the stick because they like to roam and too many cat owners don't bother to fix kitty before he/she go out. Cats like to roam and pro-create.

Unknown said...

Feral cats aren't wildlife, they're a destructive, invasive species. If you want to preserve wildlife you don't want to save the feral cats.

Rabel said...

Over 45, free to relocate, traps and handles ferals and non-sociables on a daily basis, knows her pussies inside and out (it's a vulva, not a vagina!), go for it Professor.

mikee said...

Toxoplasmosis
Ringworm
Salmonellosis
Campylobacter infection
Giardia
Cryptosporidium infection
Roundworms
Hookworms
Cat Scratch Disease

Enjoy the view. Wear your shoes, which should be bleached in the shower stall at the end of the day. Don't try to pet the nasty unvaccinated animals, the list is worse if they bite or scratch you. And keep an eye on your food and drink, in case it has been sampled by kitty before getting to you.

One cat, owned by the patron, is fine in a restaurant. 55 feral cats is a health issue and not so much scenic as septic.

Bilwick said...

"I live in Doggie utopia. Everyone has dogs in this town and they are worshiped to the hilt. I don't have an issue with it. Except for the non-stop bathroom breaks on my lawn."

I live in a Yuppie utopia where apparently all the "Chad and Stacy" clones need a dog to guard the McMansion. And almost never a cute little dog but a humongous poop machine. The owners' attitude seems to be "The world is my pet's toilet." And if you say anything the owners get very righteous.

Rusty said...

Sounds like a job for Trumpit.

Merny11 said...

https://www.facebook.com/1696971165/posts/10204904943698818/

Angel-Dyne Watch this. Dearest thing ever. Cats can be just as much a part of the family as dogs.

Merny11 said...

Sorry I didn’t share that link correctly