Visiting the sanctuary was one of the highlights of my trip to the Isle of Mann. My husband and I took the steam train to Santon, and then we hiked to the shelter. It is open for visitors one to two days a week depending on the season, and there were many visitors from all over when we went. The sanctuary was filled with Manx cats--rumpy, stumpy, stubby, and tailed, and they looked happy to be there. Most had free roam of the indoors and out, and their main multi-roomed house had multiple fireplaces to keep the place toasty despite the open doors. Cats wandered, dozed, ate, stole laps, and relished pets from visitors. We found other animals besides cats there, too. We saw parrots, a dog, geese, chickens, and more. It's the sanctuary's policy to never turn away an animal if possible. If they're not able to house it, they try to find someone who can. They said tolerance of other animals helps make their cats more adoptable, but they don't adopt out every cat. Some cats are unsuitable for adoption, but they find a permanent home at the shelter, and visitors are welcome to sponsor their care. The Isle may be small in comparison to most countries, but it's still amazing that this one shelter serves the whole country. The volunteers I met were tireless, cheery, and ready to chat. To help support their cause, I bought some reasonably priced items from their gift shop before I left. read more

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