CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Veterinary Doctor Lindsey Bloomquist, left, and Marshalltown Strong TNR Executive Director and Founder Cara Jackson, right, pose for a photo with kittens brought into VCA Marshalltown Animal Hospital for a final wellness check before being re-homed. Jackson is retiring from her position after four years at the helm.

After four years dedicated to combating Marshalltown’s stray cat problem, Cara Jackson, the founder and executive director of Marshalltown Strong Trap, Neuter, Release (TNR) is stepping back from her role, citing health reasons.

Marshalltown Strong TNR has been a labor of love for Jackson, and she founded it about four years ago after the 2018 tornado. Jackson lost her home and her car, and while she was cleaning up in the area, one of her cats escaped and was lost for several days. In the process of trying to trap her own cat, she caught three stray unfixed cats. Jackson decided to get them spayed and neutered before releasing them again, but that brought a larger problem to her attention.

“We were up to several cats before I finally caught my cat, and it was like, ‘We have a problem here that’s not getting addressed,'” Jackson said.

The Marshalltown Strong TNR’s initial goal was trapping, fixing and releasing six cats. Now in year four, Jackson and her team have done this for 541 cats, 78 of which were fixed just in the last few months. Jackson believes that number will jump to 625 before the year is over.

They also vaccinate the cats they trap, and after releasing them, they continue to provide medical care to ensure the colonies don’t get sick. Marshalltown Strong TNR also runs a “cuddle camp” for kittens who have lost their mothers and are vulnerable. A volunteer cares for those kittens and makes sure they are healthy before rehoming them through the Animal Rescue League (ARL) of Marshalltown.

While watching the program grow and be successful has been a major highlight for Jackson, after battling with cancer for several years, she has made the decision to step away from her leadership role and hand off the day-to-day operations to Steven Havens, who will serve as the lead supervisor for the Marshalltown Strong TNR volunteers.

“We have a great group of volunteers. They’ve all taken an area of their expertise, whether it would be our cuddle camp, where there would be an orphaned or a kitten in need, or a rehoming or trapping, they’ve all stepped into their shoes and are working great with Steven,” Jackson said. “I couldn’t be more relaxed leaving my program in their hands. It’s hard to do, it’s very hard to do, but I feel very confident in their abilities to keep it going.”

While Steven Havens will be supervising volunteers, his wife Jenny Havens will be in charge of fundraising for the program, and Kayti Shaffer will be taking over scheduling. Jackson said the help she has and continues to receive from the veterinarians at VCA Marshalltown Animal Hospital has been invaluable. Whether they are performing vaccinations, neutering, spaying or wellness checks, they have backed the program “since day one.”

Since it started with Jackson herself, TNR has grown to a group of about 30 volunteers and program members, but Jackson said that didn’t count the numerous financial supporters who have made the program possible.

She still gets teary eyed when thinking about this chapter coming to a close, and she believes she will miss all of the people within the program the most.

“I think I’m going to miss our vets the most. I’ve grown quite a relationship with them, that and the volunteers,” Jackson said. “We’ve formed friendships that will probably last a lifetime.”

While her role within the program is reduced, Jackson is still acting in an advisory role, especially while Steven Havens learns the ropes, and she still keeps up with their social media page and other happenings.

“I suppose I am about 85 to 90 percent retired. I don’t know when I’ll be able to pull that last bit, or if I’ll ever be able to, but my health is slipping quickly,” she said.

Jackson will be leaving the program in her staff’s capable hands and is thrilled to see all of the progress made with the Marshalltown cat population.

To have a colony trapped, call Shaffer at (970) 573-9413 to get on the schedule. More information on the program can be found on their Facebook page by searching Marshalltown Strong TNR.

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Contact Susanna Meyer at 641-753-6611 or

smeyer@timesrepublican.com.