Volunteering at The Big Cat Sanctuary, Kent

Big Cat Fest finished on Sunday 9 August. Four of us were there across the ten days. Harry, Tina and Kay each took a day, and Daryl went along with his daughter Flo.

Why we were there

As a supplier of branded clothing and merchandise to The Big Cat Sanctuary, we knew the place before any of us pulled on an orange t-shirt. When you work with an organisation you get a sense of how it’s run, and this one is run by people who mean it. So when they needed hands for the festival, it wasn’t a difficult decision.

It’s also nice knowing we’re helping something on our own doorstep. We’ve both been in Kent over 20 years, and being local means we can keep turning up rather than doing this once and forgetting about it.

The Sanctuary

It sits outside Smarden and it’s been running since 2000.

The thing most people don’t realise is that it’s a sanctuary, not a zoo. The cats come first and everything else works around them. That’s why you can’t just turn up on a Saturday. You get in through pre-booked experiences, encounters, guided tours and photography workshops, and only in small numbers, because that’s what suits the animals.

Rescue is a big part of what they do. Between 2024 and 2025 they brought five lions out of Ukraine, Rori, Vanda, Amani, Lira and Yuna, and built the Lion Rescue Centre to house them. More recently they’ve taken in a fishing cat, a Eurasian lynx and an Asian golden cat. Animals also come to them from collections that have closed or can’t look after them anymore, and there aren’t many places in the country with the space and the licensing to take them permanently.

Alongside that they’re part of accredited international breeding programmes, and money raised on site supports more than 20 conservation projects around the world.

Big Cat Fest

The festival is the exception to all the closed gates. This year it ran for ten days from 29 July to 9 August, with Cats Protection as headline partner. It’s the charity’s biggest fundraiser of the year and, for most people, the only realistic chance to see the place.

The day

Between the four of us we covered the front gate, the shop, the VIP area and the mini golf.

The gate sets up everyone’s day, so a lot of it was bringing guests in in an orderly way and getting people pointed where they needed to go. After that it was manning a patch and helping the Sanctuary’s team with whatever came up. Every hour a volunteer covers is an hour the permanent staff get back for the things only they can do.

The staff are what we all came back talking about. They were friendly with us and with the guests, they answered questions all day, and they were still going on day nine of ten in the heat. How much they care about the animals comes across within a minute of talking to any of them.

Supporting them from £5 a month

Membership starts from £5 a month. You get a pack with a welcome letter, a membership guide, a car sticker and a limited edition pin badge, access to Members’ Days, which are ticketed events run through the year, and priority booking for Big Cat Fest before tickets go on general sale. Member newsletters land every couple of months.

The money goes into enclosures, vet bills and the day to day cost of looking after the cats. Because the site is shut to the public most of the year, regular monthly support is worth a lot more here than it would be somewhere with a gate and a car park. If a monthly commitment isn’t for you, you can adopt one of the cats, book an experience, or follow them and share what they put out.

Frequently asked questions we got on the day

Can you visit The Big Cat Sanctuary?

Not the way you’d visit a zoo. Access comes through pre-booked experiences, encounters, guided tours, photography workshops, overnight stays at The Retreat, Members’ Days and Big Cat Fest, all booked through the Sanctuary directly.

When is Big Cat Fest 2027?

Not announced yet. They’re asking people to join their mailing list to hear first, and members get priority booking before general sale, which matters given how fast this year went.

What's the difference between membership and adopting a cat?

Membership is ongoing support with the member benefits attached. Adoption is tied to a particular cat and funds their day to day care. Plenty of people do both.

How can a business support them?

Adoptions, memberships, corporate sponsorship, venue hire and corporate days, or supporting the events. If you’re thinking about corporate volunteering, ring them and ask what would actually help rather than arriving with an idea already formed.