Cat Survival Trust
Cat Survival Trust
4.5
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
About
Duration: 1-2 hours
Meets animal welfare guidelines
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

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4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles60 reviews
Excellent
46
Very good
8
Average
1
Poor
3
Terrible
2

Sue L
1 contribution
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2023 • Solo
Sharon M is the daughter of the director and not just a normal patron.

The director is now being held up in court for 28 counts of neglect and cruelty.

I tried to report this many years a go and it fell on dead ears, no one would investigate.

The charity has embezzled more money than I can count and has never put it in the care of the animals, well minimally.

I couldn't wait when the new pens to be built, there was a lot of money involved. These tiny brieze block pens appeared and the animals paced and looked miserable.

They were responsible for the loss of snow leopard cubs when his wife decided to handle them and they were rejected and died. Everyone knows you do not handle a wild animal as this is the outcome.

The charity was a meal ticket and nothing else.

Many a wealthy and well known patron has stepped down over the years. Neither was Paul O'Grady impressed with him...
Written January 26, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

SHARON M
1 contribution
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2023 • Solo
I have been a paid member if THE CAT SURVIVAL TRUST for many years now and it goes from strength to strength winning many conservation awards and has ben in existence since 1977 with its 2ns larger sanctuary in Misognes S America where the cats live as wild.Hecters upon Hecters are bought up to preserve the and flora and fauna kept to sustain the prey on which the cats who all live as wild depend. Most the cats up here Ive known since theywere born and they are all real characters.. There is Athena the jaguar who is quite vocal and brings over her boomer ball.. the Amur leopard pair Comet and his good lady he is very sweet and bats long blonde eyelashes at me while she usually ignores me. The puma are gorgeous quite a few too ToffEe the big male is the biggest puma in captivity in the UK he was hand reared and various females there too. Some of the cats are in captive breeding programmes as so many are on the endangered list and they go to other zoos on loan. The cats belong to the Trust and none are ever sold they go on loan to other facilities for breeding then return a few months later. All are well fed typical leopards v lazy can sleep 20 hrs a day and they have nice heated inner compartments to go night time.. There is an impressive selection of small cats such as The golden cat, the fishing cat the Asian leopard cat, caracals, servals and lynx too. Terry took in some owls after someone passed away and they are pretty big too and beautiful birds.
Some of the cats up there are confiscations from people who have kept them and not had a dangerous wild animal licence so on seizure by local authority etc they come up the trust to live.
The trust does not operate like a zoo you become a member, renew your membership yearly prices for single membership and family are listed on the website then when you wish to call just ring up and let them know you will be visiting.. Members come from all walks of life tv stars, bankers, retirees, policemen,etc..it is a very peaceful place to come spend a few hours whether visiting or volunteering.. Volunteers are taken from the members database.
Some ladies with a gardening interests come down too to plant a variety of flowers
and usually plant some lovely summer flowers and bamboo is also now growing...big cats love fragrance and having grown up with big cats myself know they love sage lilac orange peel all rubbed into the leaves of bushes in their pens and they love to rub themselves all over it...much building work all with sustainable materials is often going on as always a need for more bigger pens as puma and snow leopards have sucessfully bred a few beautiful litters there. The Trust was featured on Nat geo also on a dvd called The leopards of leafy London. Special attention paid to pen building with deep 4 ft footings concreted to prevent digging, all done by hand by volunteers and some have stayed a few weeks in caravans on the site, and are a cheerful very hardworking and dedicated bunch..Terrys head of cats is Dr Rob Martin with a PHD in clouded leopards so very knowledgeable about distinct features of certain cats...the Trust is Terrys life work, and he is so dedicated waking at 5am daily to get out there feed clean the cats, do anything needing doing, with the others then doing his paperwork in afternoons and gets very little rest but is always cheerful and accomodating and has projects in different parts of the world with release programmes.. He has great respect from the crown prince of Fujairah as well, as Terry helped him with a couple of his cats which were being aggressive and settled in very well after Terrys guidance.. It is a humble place, with a humble kind man who has achieved a great deal. The Trust also run photography experiences with lectures on the cats there and this has been very successful and some lovely work done by the photography group too.
Written January 15, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Mark E
Berkshire, UK21 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2023 • Couples
Just a heads up. I am sure the cats are very interesting and well kept but upon arriving at the location there was a hint of decay and disorder not to mention an unhappy looking lady who said “we are not open currently” so ring before you go and don’t be surprised by what you find !
Written September 1, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

GlobetrottingViking
Thatcham, UK2,735 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2022
I attended a Jessops Academy photo shoot at the Cat Survival Trust this week, and it was an amazing experience. The Trust is not open to the public, but admits members and participants in pre-booked tours only, such as the photographic tours organised by the Jessops Academy. The site has an air of intentional untidiness about it, partly due to ongoing building work. The animals are in relatively small enclosures, and during the day we got right up to the wired fences without any secondary barriers which you find at public zoos. The Jessops guide, Pete, was excellent and gave really helpful tips for professional as well as amateur photographers.
There was one rather worrying feature. In a presentation, the Trust founder, a homeopathic practitioner, gave some really interesting background to the creative and valuable environmental work of the Cat Survival Trust. But he then appeared to endorse a theory that it is not the fossil fuel and carbon which is the main issue of climate change, but the polar drift! I may have misunderstood him. But then, on top of the pile of nature books he pointed to, there was a book denouncing the Covid-19 vaccine, which made me wonder what the scientific view was. Sadly, my suspicion was confirmed when reading their latest newsletter, claiming that COVID-19 was a scam - it was just the annual flu!
But from a photo shoot point of view, this was a wonderful and unique experience.
Written August 7, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Anon123
1 contribution
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2022 • Couples
Read somewhere that the sanctuary was behind the farm shop so upon arrival saw the farm shop and proceeded to walk a little around the side of this building. Hadn’t seen the signage for the cat sanctuary entrance because it was hidden by rubbish and faded - the entrance was in fact just a door just to the right. Owner or volunteer (I’m not sure) started shouting over asking where we were going so we walked back and explained we were trying to find the entrance. He ended up rather aggressively giving my partner and I a lecture; health and safety, trespassing, “how would you like it if someone walked in your garden”. There was no signage, no gates to restrict access etc. Calmly apologised only for him to continue. Clearly having a bad day and wasn’t worth the argument but it’s not acceptable behaviour. Looked run down and dirty with rubbish everywhere and that’s without even going in. We were told “it’s not a zoo” and we “need to book” but we couldn’t navigate the website to do this. Mainly there to make a donation for the cats so it’s a shame that he met us with such a negative attitude. Would not recommend and would rather support somewhere else.
Written June 17, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Lesley Stevenson
Luton, UK7 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2019
great collection of wild cats plus a few other animals, well informed talk by knowledgeable volunteer taking you round the site that is hidden behind a farm shop. The site is looked after just by volunteers and the owner, a non profit organisation which also does fantastic work for local and overseas wildlife. Thoroughly recommend a visit.
Written April 13, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

hilaryroberts
Welwyn, UK25 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2019
We took a group of 7-11 year old boys here recently. They, and we loved it. I had no idea so many beautiful wild creatures lived so near to us! Interesting tour and able to get very close to see the animals.
Written August 18, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

K A
11 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2019 • Solo
I found it amazing that Mr Moore, the founder, has also brought many acres of vigin forrest in Argentina to not only help animals here in the UK but also over seas!
Nearly of the donations made go towards saving to buy more and better equipt the Argentine workers over there, which only 10% is open for tours! 90% of that forrest is held just for native species to thrive!
(Not just cats!)

Every single one of the workers that work at the Trust are Volunteers!

After reading all these bad reviews I went to make my own opinion and get the facts. The cats are fed on a range of meats, from whole deers, giat slabs of beef/pork, chicks, rabbits, chickens and more...!

The animals there are all healthy and look in great shape, some of the enclosures for the smaller cats look small from the out side but that is only because the inside enclosure is big as the cats are never made to go outside just because members are looking around... The enclosures are kitted out for each cat species individually, some outside enclosures are full of bamboo, but that is because this is a sanctuary, NOT A ZOO!
It is there to save these animals that otherwise would have been euthanized because they had no monetary value for zoos!!!

New enclosures are waiting to be built, (they are half completed!) but as you can expect the volunteers time is taken with caring and enriching the cats!
Because this is NOT A ZOO, some of the cats do not like large groups gawping at them and can look nervous when you approach if they are outside! (WOULDN'T YOU!)

PERSONALLY I THINK OVERALL THE WORK DONE HERE AT THE CAT SURVIVAL TRUST IS OUTSTANDING!
I am going to start volunteering (seriously, long term!) to help these fantastic creatures and expand the site further... I just want to thank all the staff for the great work they do and allowing me to have a amazing day out and really appreciate all these creatures have been through!
Remember these cats, lemurs and raccon dogs have been cruelly taken from the wild and brought to a place they do not know! You could look like that poacher and unnerve them!!
Written August 18, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Ellie Rose
United Kingdom5 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2019
If you love cats of all types, this place is for you. The cats are really cool to visit and take pictures of. The sounds and the movement they make is amazing and you feel like you are in the wild. As well as having beautiful cats, there is a farm shop, normal cats and horses that are very friendly. Finnnaly, this place is totally run by willing volunteers that are very helpful and take good care of them. Would definitely recommend to anyone!
( when I went, I even got to stroke an adult snow leopard through the bars)
Written August 7, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Riad D
Welwyn, UK80 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2019 • Couples
We visited the Cat Survival Trust in June and had a wonderful time exploring the complex via a guided tour. The sanctuary has a number of species ranging from snow leopards to mountain lions. The cats were extremely heathy and seemed content in their enclosures, unlike the pacing animals one might see at the zoo. The activity lasts just under two hours and is highly recommended for anyone who has an interest in cats or is local and like me, didn’t even know this place existed.
Written August 7, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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CAT SURVIVAL TRUST: All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)

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  • Mon - Sat 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM


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