HURON — Since the Alley Cat Spay and Neuter Mission started two years ago in Huron, the program has been responsible for the spaying or neutering of 236 cats in the area in an effort to curb the population.

While founder Laura Jones of Huron is happy with that number, it hasn’t happened without a few growing pains that nearly derailed the project. Assisting her in the program has been Julie Myers, formerly of Huron and now of Pierre.

Alley Cat Spay and Neuter Mission traps stray or feral cats, spays or neuters them, and then releases them in the same area where they were accustomed to living. The process is known as TNR — trap, neuter and release.

Unfortunately, state law in South Dakota considered that trapping and then releasing cats back into their former wild environment was abandonment.

“Once you take possession of a cat they consider you are taking ownership and then by releasing them, you are abandoning them,” Jones added.

In a nut shell, they were breaking the law.

“We had a big uproar in town,” Jones said. “It was against (Huron’s) ordinance. We were told the city would not change its ordinance unless the state statute changed, and we were told that getting that changed would be very difficult.”

Jones said she talked to former Rep. Peggy Gibson who got the ball rolling in the legislature with a bill co-sponsored by Sen. David Wheeler of Huron and Rep. Linda Duba of Sioux Falls. The bill was passed and became law on July 1.

“They had fun when it was going through the House, there were cat jokes along the way,” Jones said. “People doubted it would actually pass, but Gov. Noem signed it and now it’s legal — all because of a little group in South Dakota that didn’t give up.

“It was a really rough year for me, but we kept going and got it done,” she added.

The city of Huron changed its own ordinance shortly after the law went into effect, and the TNR program is no longer a crime.

“I actually started this in the fall of 2022, and our first cat went in to get fixed on Nov. 17, 2022,” Jones said. “But I was warned that if I was caught, I could face legal consequences. I did stop, I didn’t know that I wanted to go to jail for it.”

Jones said they use live traps which are covered with blankets and baited with tuna or sardines. The cage is covered with a blanket to help keep the animal calm. “A feral cat will go crazy in a cage and hurt themselves,” she added.

“We’ve helped people in smaller communities, too,” Jones said. “We’ve helped people in De Smet and Virgil. They need help more than anybody because they don’t have humane societies.”

Myers remembers hearing of plans to launch the Alley Cat program when she was still living in Huron. “Besides being a cat lady myself, I had been rescuing cats for almost 20 years prior to this,” Myers said. “I was onboard right away. Cats multiply quickly. They can have three litters a year.”

Kittens are generally six months old before they can be spayed or neutered, but female cats can become pregnant as early as four months, Myers said.

“In seven years time, two pairs of cats and their offspring can produce almost 400,000 cats,” Myers said. “The town needs us and the humane society can’t do it alone.”

Myers said she and Jones are now working to establish the Alley Cat program in the Pierre area. “Any TNR program is so important because no one ever wants to see animals suffer,” Myers said. “You might not see the benefits of the TNR program right away, but eventually you will.”

Once a cat has been fixed through the TNR program, its ear is clipped, a universal sign that the animal has been spayed or neutered.

Jones, who enjoys taking long walks and bike rides around town, said she often notices cat colonies along the way. “Most people aren’t looking for cats,” she said. “One time I saw 14 cats, another time 16. There’s a lot of colonies in town.”

Jones said she recently stumbled across a colony while out for a walk later one evening, when she spotted an older mother cat and two kittens in a gutter.

“The kittens we took to the humane society because they were friendly,” Jones said. “Two of the cats from that colony have been fixed, but there are still more to trap and fix.”

Removing the cats from the area does not eliminate the problem. “It’s called the vacuum effect,” Jones said, explaining that other cats will just move into the territory.

“We have found homes for 11 of the kitties that we worked with in different colonies,” Jones said. “That doesn’t sound like a lot, but it is 11 kitties off the streets and enjoying a home.

“We are not set up to be a rescue, we don’t have the funding,” Jones added. “Our funds are very limited and it’s expensive to spay and neuter. Our funding is from private citizens.”

Each cat they bring in is also given a rabies shot before being released.

“Julie and I joke that if one of us wins the lottery, we’ll start a sanctuary where we can have feral cats inside,” Jones said. “That’s our dream. We just do what we can. We didn’t think we could get the state statute changed, but we did. We’ll just keep going.

“I want to thank the people that did stand behind us and support us,” she added. “It was a bit of a tough journey. Without the supporters, we wouldn’t be here.”

Jones said if anybody wants help through the TNR program in their area, they can call her at 605-350-8808.