Wayne State College professor Pat Janssen has been providing a unique service to the community by sheltering and finding homes for abandoned and homeless cats.  

What started as just feeding the local homeless cats for Janssen and his wife turned into a fully-fledged cat-saving operation. The couple began their efforts to rehouse abandoned cats in the late summer of 2021 and took in 50 cats their first year alone. 

“We got a lot of them that year because Winside had a problem,” Janssen said.  

Within the last few years, the Janssen’s have been able to make a significant dent in the feral cat population.  

“The numbers have really gone down which is encouraging,” Janssen said.  

They have only taken in a handful of cats from Winside this year, a large step down from the 50 at the beginning of their journey. The couple has started to expand further into Wayne County and Winside.  

“There is a real dearth of shelters or services in the area, you either have to go to Norfolk or Sioux City and they are all loaded up,” Janssen said.  

In terms of advice for anyone who wants to help, Janssen says to get your pets spayed and neutered.  

“They are less likely to get into fights and are generally healthier when spayed and neutered,” Janssen said. “Even if you don’t have to deal with it, that just means somebody else will.”  

He also emphasized the importance of community when it comes to running an operation like this.  

“There are people in other communities in Nebraska who do this kind of stuff, but the burnout rate is really high,” Janssen said. “If it weren’t for monetary, emotional and labor support provided by other people, we wouldn’t be where we are right now.” 

The Janssens’ operation was built off their sense of compassion for animals and the idea that everyone should be kind to all living animals. Anyone who would like to help can contact them on Instagram @winsidewaywardcats for monetary donations or to go through the application process for adoption.