A museum who thought it would be hilarious to prank everyone on April Fools’ Day ended up accidentally employing a cat.
Staff at the Serpukhov Museum of History and Art in Serpukhov, Russia, wrote out a fake application letter for stray cat Marav, who has been hanging out inside the building for the past two years.
Named after the cat-loving former museum owner Anna Maraeva, he has acted as the unofficial greeter for visitors since he started roaming the building.
Workers sent a prank job application out in a press release to local media and said that they had accepted it, giving him a job.
April Fools’: The museum tried to prank the media with Maray’s job application (Serpukhov Historical and Art Museum)
The application, that was even signed with a paw print, read: “As I am a direct relative of [Anna] Maraeva, I ask you to give me a job in your museum. Maray The Cat.”
However, the prank was taken a bit too seriously by journalists, who had contacted the museum to find out more about him.
As a result, staff actually gave Maray a job for real - and he is now officially a part of the team, working a 9-5 shift and having a regular lunch break like everyone else.
Employee: The cat is now officially a part of the team (Serpukhov Historical and Art Museum)
His colleague Nina Strelkova said: “All people who work in our museum love Maray.
“Many bring him food from home and take pictures with him. So he gets a little fat now.
“And visitors love the cat too - lots of them taking selfies with him.”
He doesn’t slack too much, however, as he would probably face disciplinary action.
