About this episode

Louise Holton and Debbie Holzer discuss the challenges of protecting the African Wildcat and the evolving landscape of community cat care.

"The goal isn't so much a set number as the area, and 100% sterilization — which is a lofty goal. But the only thing we can do is keep going." This episode is sponsored-in-part by Maddie's Fund , OcuTrap , and Feline Infectious Disease Summit 2026 . Louise Holton has been working to protect cats for decades and across continents — from TNR work with the Johannesburg SPCA in the 1970s, to helping establish TNR programs in the UK, to founding Alley Cat Rescue in 1997 as the first national organization in the US dedicated to all cats, friendly and feral alike. She's joined this episode by Debbie Holzer, who has worked alongside her since 2020 and brings a nonprofit development background to ACR's writing, programs, and day-to-day operations. Together they share how their own early connections to cats — Louise's mother's habit of rescuing strays, Debbie's childhood cat she called her best friend — set the stage for lifelong advocacy. Stacy and the team dig into how the community cat landscape itself has shifted: TNR programs built in the '90s for antisocial, "spitfire" feral cats now have to account for a growing population of social, unowned cats living outdoors without a dedicated…

People in this episode

Host: Stacy

Guests: Louise Holton, Debbie Holzer

Topics covered

• African Wildcat
• hybridization
• TNR programs

Sponsors

Maddie's Fund, OcuTrap, Feline Infectious Disease Summit 2026

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Alley Cat Rescue, Johannesburg SPCA

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