Alley Cat Advocates fixing Louisville's stray issue with TNR, new community cat complex

Karen Little used to walk to and from her home in Old Louisville to her job as the head of the music library at the University of Louisville. Along the way, she started noticing an abundance of cats roaming freely on the streets.

Her heart swelled and she knew she had to do something. Many of the strays ended up in her home; some she picked up and gave to friends, relatives or neighbors. Soon the number of cats she wanted to help outgrew her network, and she realized there needed to be a better long-term solution to the community cat population problem other than just adoption.

"You cannot adopt your way out of all the cats that are on the street," Little said. "It is certainly an important and valuable component of animal welfare, but there are too many cats for that to be the only tool in your toolbox."

So Little and her husband formed Alley Cat Advocates, a nonprofit focused on trap-neuter-return, or TNR, for community cats — a term used to refer to stray or unknown cats.

The organization humanely traps the cat in its neighborhood, neuters it and then returns it to its original location. The process takes about three days, according to Alley Cat's website.

By the end of 2019, Little said the organization will have altered — think spayed and neutered — 50,000 cats from the Louisville area, at an average of about 75 a week. 

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It's that high number of cats that has spurred the nonprofit to build a "Cat Community Complex," which will offer in-house spay and neuter services, something that has seen success in cities both on the East and West coasts, according to Little. 

Currently, each community cat alteration is done by outsourcing to private vet clinics. Before that happens, the organization has to transport the cat to the clinic and pay for its housing. That process will be made more efficient at the Cat Community Complex, which Little said is set to open by the end of this year.

The complex will be on the campus of Louisville Metro Animal Services, 3705 Manslick Road, the organization's partner. Along with the spay/neuter clinic, the facility will include places for cat medical rehabilitation and hospice foster care for special-needs cats.

Little, who describes herself as a "big picture" person, said there is still a much bigger problem faced by community cats that isn't being addressed: issues in the breeding process, such as territorial instincts for males or complications in the birthing process for females.

TNR is the organization's solution to that.

"The huge majority of any suffering they would encounter is related to the breeding process," Little said. "We can remove that piece from spaying/neutering."

Little said neutering community cats is a "win" both for the cat's health and for the community members who interact with them.

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In its 20 years, Alley Cat Advocates' mission hasn't changed, Little said. The TNR program isn't without criticism, however. 

"The backlash comes from people who feel that all cats should be inside people’s homes and putting them back outside is cruel and inhumane," Little said. "... There are not enough homes to bring all the cats in from off of the street."

Little found that some cats didn't want to be taken off the street and would prefer to live outside and roam from place to place. But don't call those cats "homeless," Little said. Often, the cats have multiple "homes," Little has found, one for sleeping and others for each meal.

"It’s basically a community effort to make sure those cats are healthy," Little said. 

Little said one of the biggest misconceptions about community cats is the assumption that if a cat is roaming free, it is diseased, sick or living a horrible life. 

"I think the biggest misconception is, 'Oh that poor kitty doesn’t have a home,' but that poor kitty actually does have a home, is living the high life and may have it better than some inside cats," Little said.

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In fact, Little said one of the most rewarding parts of her work for Alley Cat Advocates is how the culture of caring for community cats has changed. Little said it's not only the "crazy cat lady" who is taking care of strays, and recently the culture has shifted to understand that.

"We have tried to build a community of citizens that are respected and know that they’re not alone in caring for these cats that have shown up on their back porch," Little said. "... (It's) humane and proper to care for them, and those people should not be maligned for having stepped up but should actually be supported and rewarded."

Whether the cat lives inside or outside, Little said Alley Cat Advocates wants it to live a long, healthy life. The organization isn't an animal emergency resource, however, which Little said is a common misconception. But its partner, Louisville Metro Animal Service, does offer emergency services. 

Ozzy Gibson, LMAS director, said his organization has been better served with a contracted partnership with Alley Cat Advocates. He called Little's work "top notch."

Gibson said the community cat program brings longevity and stability to the community cat population.

"This community cat program can’t ever go away because we’d be right back where we were," Gibson said.

Little said Louisville residents don't always realize their city is a national model for TNR programs. She said she speaks about it at conferences throughout the country.

"(It) has helped lead the shelter and the citizens and the veterinarians to a place where cats are cared for as they should be, and if we can do it here — if I can do it — anybody can do it, and I think that’s inspiring for people," Little said.

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Reach intern Laurel Deppen at ldeppen@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @Laurel_Deppen.