Volunteering at Syros Cats
Regular readers of our social media pages may already know that we have been absolutely inundated with applications to volunteer with us. We are truly grateful that so many of you have shown genuine interest in the work we do here and are keen to help. And also that so many of you return! Thank you.
We will be opening applications in January 2025, but in the meantime, to give you an idea of what volunteering with Syros Cats is like, we asked a recent volunteer, Karol, for her thoughts on her ‘Syros Cats Experience’!
Volunteering at Syros Cats was a life changing experience. Initially I came for just one month but ended up staying for five. From day one, Jo and Jacky made me feel included and at home. I got to stay in a cosy house which was teeny-tiny yet much more practical than any place I’ve ever lived in. I’ve met a lot of wonderful, like-minded people. It’s a place where you can make friends for a lifetime. The village is beautiful and the neighbours are incredibly friendly and hospitable. I even took part in their olive harvest which was amazing.
Even though I had volunteered with cats before, I learned a lot of new, useful skills from Jo and other volunteers, especially when it comes to giving medication. It was a very responsible and at times stressful task, but it gave me the most satisfaction. I also improved my cleaning skills, as – let’s be honest – around ninety percent of the volunteer work is cleaning! However, that gave me a lot of satisfaction too, and never in the world would I swap it for any kind of sedentary job.
Because I stayed there for so long I got the chance to make friends with many of the cats and get to know their unique personalities, though at first, telling identically coloured cats apart was difficult! But by the end I knew all of their faces and food preferences. I shared my room with cats and very often had three or five of them sleeping in the bed next to me.
But life is never all white or all black. There was a lot of laughter, but there were tears too. Some cats get very sick. Some cats die. My first week volunteering I accidently walked into a small cemetery in the Syros Cats garden. I saw stones with the cats’ names painted on them and I thought to myself: I hope I never have to paint a stone like that. But I did, and now after several months away, I have a couple of new graves to visit the next time I come to Syros. There’s no life without death and that job teaches you that as well.
It also teaches you to value resources we often take for granted, like water. Every detail of the work is really thought-through and makes complete sense. Nothing goes to waste. You learn to think how your every action (or lack of it) affects your environment and people around you. And you are a part of a small community, not all alone the way it is in modern cities.
For a nature lover obsessed with exploring like me, Syros is a paradise island. I got to swim in clear blue water with sand shimmering like golden dust under my feet, on deserted beaches I had thought existed only in the movies. I got to sit on the rocks that have seen ancient civilisations, close my eyes and listen to the wind and the sea crashing on the shore, surrounded by nothing but nature, no people for miles away. I will cherish those experiences forever. I returned home changed, with more faith in myself and a new plan for life.
Think you have what it takes to volunteer with us?
We shall be opening applications for 2025 in January, when you will be able to apply through our website or our profile on Workaway. We particularly welcome people with veterinary nursing experience and returning volunteers. In the meantime, please check our Facebook and Instagram pages for last-minute availability for the remaining months of this year.
