It's raining cats and Tennessee is flooding
Tennessee is facing a full-blown cat crisis, and it’s getting worse by the day. Thousands of cats—many born to stray or abandoned mothers—are flooding shelters that are already over capacity and underfunded. Kittens too young to survive alone are being dumped in boxes on the side of the road, and adult cats are multiplying faster than communities can respond.
Most shelters don’t have the space or resources to keep up, leading to heartbreaking euthanasia decisions and burned-out staff. This isn’t just an animal problem—it’s a public health issue, a taxpayer burden, and a moral crisis. The Campbell County Animal Shelter says that the town of LaFollette owes them more than $75,000, leaving the shelter vulnerable and unable to serve community members who need their help.
Looking for more visibility into your local shelter? The Freedom of Information Act grants the public the right to request access to records from any federal agency–this includes municipal shelters that are funded by the government. Learn more here.
"The priority has to be emergencies, public health risks, legal cases and strays. Unfortunately, we do not have space to intake all of the owner surrenders even with careful scheduling and a lot of planning, we don’t have the resources to handle the amount of unwanted and homeless animals in our county." -Campbell County Animal Shelter Director, Patricia Siwinski
Trap-Neuter-Return. (TNR)
TNR: Three letters you need to know when talking about the cat overpopulation. TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return) is a method used to manage feral and stray cat populations humanely. The process involves trapping cats, having them spayed or neutered, and then returning them to their original territory. This approach aims to reduce cat suffering, control populations, and minimize nuisance behaviors associated with unsterilized cats.
A well-managed community program of TNR is crucial because the vast majority of unfixed homeless cats come from unfixed outdoor cats. It is a sad and vicious cycle. Well managed means they need a dedicated caregiver who provides shelter, food, and clean water. In Tennessee, there are currently there are no laws that protect the most vulnerable stray community cats, and community cats need community help.
It has been shared with us there may be a local shelter with a policy stating to only accept injured cats, and all others should be put back into the wild. When this is done, the cat will likely continue to reproduce (if they aren't fixed), which accelerates our animal overpopulation. Just one unaltered cat can produce anywhere from 12 to 24 kittens in one year. In seven years, that one cat can produce up to 168 cats. This is only one cat.
Outdoor cat: A cat that spends time outside, whether it's a pet cat allowed to roam or a stray/feral cat
Homeless cat: A cat without a permanent indoor home, which can include stray and feral cats but also cats, that are lost or have been abandoned
Community cat: A cat that is outdoor or free-roaming. They may be friendly or feral.
Difference Makers
PCC is dedicated to strengthening the human-animal bond through accessible veterinary care and support services. They operate the Phran Galante Center for Pet Wellness – a high-volume, low-cost spay/neuter and vaccine clinic in Nashville, TN run by highly skilled veterinarians, clinicians, and nonprofit professionals. Since they began providing TNR services, Metro Animal Care and Control’s (MACC) cat intake rate has dropped by more than 50%, and the save rate of cats has increased to 90%. This way, the shelter can concentrate its valuable resources on saving and finding homes for adoptable animals. Click here to learn more about what they're doing for the community cat population.
Alley Cat Allies is working in communities to champion low-cost spay and neuter policies and programs, as well as lifesaving TNR and Shelter-Neuter-Return (SNR). They are working to reform public policies about cats, save the lives of cats in shelters, and change attitudes toward cats. Click here to learn more about their work to drive change and accelerate protection for cats and kittens everywhere
How you can help community cats
1
Get involved with Trap-Neuter-Return
This has been proven to be the only humane and effective approach to community cats, and most are capable of doing it. Click here to find out more about this. If you'd prefer to have someone else do it, take a look around your community and see if there are organizations you can support with their T-N-R efforts.
Be a community cat caregiver
Leave Them Be™
When you find young kittens outside, in most cases, the best thing to do is allow them to stay with their mother in their outdoor home. Even if you don’t see her, their mother is likely nearby, and is their best caregiver. You can help the whole family by providing outdoor cats with food, water, and an outdoor shelter.
4
3
Community cat caregivers provide community cats with regular food, water, and outdoor shelter—and you may even get affection in return. When doing this, be sure not to leave any food outside overnight, provide fresh water, and take action to deter insects (such as using ant-proof bowls or creating a moat around food bowls).
2
Contact your elected officials
Respectfully communicate your support (or lack of) laws and policies that affect the cats in your community. If officials are seeking re-election, they'll want the support of their constituents, which means voting in favor of better animal protection. You can find a variety of sample letters to legislation here.