Practicing and promoting Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) in DuPage County, Illinois
We're a 501c3 not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting and practicing Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) in DuPage County, Illinois. We believe that TNR is the only effective, humane and long-term solution to the problem of cat overpopulation.
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Hello friends and supporters of Feral Fixers!
Welcome to our annual Newsletter - another jam-packed issue sharing with you all the goings-on at Feral Fixers!
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Hello from Feral Fixers!
Beginning this newsletter is our “Letter from the President”. We’ve also included articles on building winter cat shelters, success stories and much more. Finally, we have included a calendar of upcoming Feral Fixers events.
Because of the help you have given us, as of this newsletter we have had 13,945 cats spay/neutered since we incorporated in September of 2007. We have also found homes for thousands of friendly cats (over 2,340 by our Adoption process alone) as well as all the friendlies we have given to other rescues for their Adoption efforts. We will continue with our efforts until the problem of cat overpopulation in DuPage County is solved and every cat has a loving home. Thank you again for caring about the cats.
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Letter from the President – With Your Help
731 spay/neuters of cats and kittens. We brought in +/- 320 friendly cats & kittens. Some of these were previously neutered adults who decided to become friendly after being neutered. There have been approximately 300 adoptions, but still have 33 officially posted for adoption and many more in foster homes. We have helped many cats with injuries and conditions from simple upper respiratory to congenital defects the cats were born with. We have provided food for caretakers. Removed feral cats from inside homes when there was no other way to get them out. Seen the change in cats who were completely feral transitioning into loving lap cats. Relocated cats that could no longer stay where they were due to overpopulation or change of circumstances. You have helped us do so much! So much goes on behind the scenes beyond our reports of spay/neuter trips and you are all part of caring for the stray and feral cats of DuPage County!
What Can We Expect In 2023?
We continue to face the unknown. Who could have expected that across the nation, we are short 15,000 veterinarians? Who could have expected that our nation could be short millions of spay/neuter surgeries? So many different factors are affecting daily lives, it will be interesting to see the impact on cats outdoors, how many kittens will be born to these unneutered females still roaming that no one was able to get to. Prices have gone up for cat food, cat litter, gasoline to take them to appointments & adoptions, and on and on. What can we do? We can continue to get as many spay/neuter appointments as we possibly can and to FILL those appointments, making caretakers aware that they must contact us as soon as a cat is consistent in attendance. It is the ONLY way to lower costs in the future. Once those kittens arrive, we will care for them, using resources for current day expenses, not for preventing even greater expenditures in the future – that is unsustainable and returns us to the past when feral cats were euthanized regularly.
Trapping will resume around the end of March, beginning of April. Keep an eye out for ferals in your area, talk to your neighbors, help us help you to care for those cats.
What Can You Do?
The Amazon Smile donation in November, which covered purchases made between July 1, 2022, and September 30, 2022, came to $606.70. That means that our donors spent $121,340 in that time period and .5% was donated by Amazon Smile – Yay! Use AmazonSmile and designate Feral Fixers – could not be an easier way to raise funds!
Visit our wish lists at Amazon & Chewy – we always need food; canned food in particular goes fast when you are supporting so MANY kittens! Gift cards allow us to purchase what our greatest need at the time is – paper towels, bleach, laundry detergent, litter boxes – amazing the variety of things we purchase to keep going!
Spread our information to coworkers, family, social media – we have donors across the country! Cats have a ripple effect, they don’t stay in one place and affect wider resources than those on their street, in their town, in their county – even in their state! New people are volunteering with us due to sharing information, but we need more volunteers, many more. Trappers, transporters, cleaners in the building, animal care in the building, fosters, event volunteers, the list goes on. You tell us what you want to do to help, and we try to make that fit for both of our benefits!
Frosty Claws in 2023
We seem to be returning to some degree of normalcy. As a result, we will be holding our 2023 Frosty Claws on Sunday, January 15th from 12 noon to 4pm at the Villa Park VFW. We may have huge attendance that day because of skipping years, please be patient. This is an event for our caretakers, adopters, donors, to talk about cats and network with some fundraising and food. We are about to start assembling our Silent Auction and door prize items – we may not have as much “stuff” as in previous years – we will post items as they are created, as soon as we have a chance. We look forward to seeing everyone who can attend!
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How many cats? 13,945 (and counting)!
Feral Fixers was founded in September of 2007. Since that time, we have spayed/neutered 13,945 cats!
If you visit our website and scroll down the page, you will see a box on the left-hand side entitled “How Many Cats?” showing the total number of cats we have had fixed to date. If you click on that line item, you will then see the Feral Fixers 'Statistics' page where you can see our progress, month-by-month, since we've started work. Or you can just click on the calculator 😊.
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Winter Cat Care
As the recent weather has reminded us, winter is here! And feral cats need extra care to help protect them in these conditions. There are several websites that contain excellent information about how to help the feral cats make it through the weather.
Some of our favorites are:
Why Shelters? While cats are often great about finding shelter on their own, this can lead them to places that might be dangerous for them (warm car engines) or areas where the property owners don’t want them (basements, boiler rooms. Other times, there’s just no sufficient option for them. These are all reasons providing an insulated shelter (if you have the property ownership or permission) is a great idea for community cats in cold climate.
Why Food and Water? Feeding a measured amount of food is a key to responsibly managing feral cat colonies and this doesn’t change in the winter! What does change is that everything freezes quickly!
Yes, everything can freeze quickly. In addition to the websites mentioned above, TorontoStreetCats has an excellent article about how you can make a Do-It-Yourself Water Bowl Warmer for your outdoor furry friends. If you are unable to run electricity out to your feeding station for an electric bowl warmer, this DIY project might be just the ticket.
Another way to keep water from freezing overnight in winter is to copy an old trick used by horse owners to keep buckets of water out in the pasture from freezing. Take an old black tire (that's off its rim) and fill it with rocks. Then tightly wedge a large bucket in the tire's hole and fill with water. During the day, the tire absorbs sunlight and heats the rocks stuffed inside. The rocks in turn radiate heat and keep the water from freezing overnight. You can learn more about this and other ways to keep water from freezing at night from the Neighborhood Cats website.
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Benny & Belinda (and Marzipan!)
We are witness to cats from birth to adoption. Benny & Belinda came to us as bottle babies, just a few days old. Mom was trapped and rejoined them, and they all went to one of our mom and babies fosters. Three months later, happy and healthy kittens, they were adopted with another kitten, Marzipan, from that foster. We see success stories like this all the time!
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Help Feral Fixers
There are several ways you can help Feral Fixers:
You can BUY SOMETHING!
- You can benefit Feral Fixers by purchasing apparel and accessories from Animal Hearted and with our logo at Cafe Press - a percentage of these purchases is sent to Feral Fixers.
- You can purchase items on our Wish List from Amazon (Amazon Smile is better - then you help us in two ways!) and have them directly delivered to Feral Fixers.
- You can also purchase pet supplies at discounted price from Kuranda and scratching pads and cat toys from Imperial Cat and have them sent directly Feral Fixers. Or you can purchase Cat Litter from Cat’s Pride and nominate us to receive free litter.
- You can shop at Amazon Smile and a portion of the proceeds purchased will be donated to Feral Fixers.
- You can purchase and donate needed supplies to us from wherever it is convenient for you to shop (a current list of supplies needed can be found on our website).
The latest and most complete instructions on how to help Feral Fixers through your shopping can be found on our website.
You can SPONSOR one of our Adoptable cats on Petfinder! To see a list and pictures/video of our cats currently up for adoption, visit our website – click on the WANT TO ADOPT link at the top. To sponsor a cat, click on the cat’s picture and then on the SPONSOR link on the right-side of the page.
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You can DONATE to us directly via PayPal or via a Credit Card. To do either, click on the DONATE link at the top of our website. This will take you to the PayPal site where you can donate either via your PayPal account or via a Credit Card (no PayPal account needed). And, did you know that you can set up Monthly donations via PayPal? These are absolutely wonderful for us, giving us a steady, can-count-on-it stream of income, more important than ever now to help take care of our monthly building expenses. To do so, just check the Make this a monthly donation box in the PayPal page -you can cancel it at any time.
You can also click on the QR Code here on our Feral Fixers Mascot to go directly to our PayPal Donation page.
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Switched jobs or your employer has had Human Resources changes? Check to see if there is a Matching Funds Program! Some companies have started doubling the original employee donation! A very large number of companies already have a matching funds option and more are being added all the time.
More information about how you can help Feral Fixers by participating in any of these programs can be found on our website - Thank you!
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Don't Do It! But If You Do...
We've made mention of feral cats in houses needing our assistance. During the winter, especially during Arctic blasts, people cannot bear for the cats to be outside and let them or bring them into their homes. We advise against this because the repercussions can be more than the people realize. Humans will be humans and maybe we need to let people know more about how to do it in a better way.
If you trap a cat to bring it in, place it in a large 42" to 48" 2-door dog crate on a table - sturdy card table will work. Cover with a large sheet at least 3/4's of the way around with the option of also covering the fourth side. Place a litter box and something for them to hide in - small carrier that is braced open so it will not close on them on its own. Be sure to have enough room to place food inside the door without threatening the cat. Place litter box by end door to make it easier to remove for scooping. Play a radio, covers sounds that are scary - scary sounds = banging, heavy footfalls, dogs barking in any part of the house. Even if you do not have to trap the cat to bring it in, putting it in the crate makes it feel safest.
Do not put the cat in a basement, utility room, room with lots of furniture or bathroom - cats will go up into ceiling tiles, behind appliances, up into bedsprings, drawers, bathrooms echo with every sound that is in the house and there is only so much room behind the toilet.
Cats when first brought in may be very anxious = place to hide in the crate. Male cats especially can go thru a bout of vocalization. Cats may eat voraciously for several days and then stop for a day or two - don't worry, they've finally caught up. After a few days the cats may sleep what seems to be 24 hours a day, again, they are catching up and not living on adrenaline. Giving them dewormer, stirred in the food, is a good idea, who knows what they have been eating!
NO SHELTER will take an unneutered cat off your hands to bring it the rest of the way to being tame. There is no space. This is your responsibility and your decision. Outside cats, in general, do not need to be "saved." If they are healthy and not allowing petting, they should stay put, be neutered as soon as it is available and then, and only then, a plan can be made to bring them inside.
This is brief, there is much more to this process than can be shared here but if you bring a cat in, these are the basics.
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Want to Volunteer?
We are always looking for volunteers to help us with taking care of the cats, trapping and transporting them, Event assistance, help around our building, etc.
If you are interested, please visit our website and click on the Want to Help link at the top and then click on the Volunteer sub-menu link. There you will see a list of opportunities that are available along with Questionnaires that you can fill out and send to us. If we see a potential fit, we'll get in contact with you.
Thank you for caring about the cats!
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Regina
August 25, 2022 – Regina, a female orange tabby kitten who came in with Upper Respiratory, scheduled for endoscopy to find cause of blockage in sinuses.
September 23, 2022 – Update on Regina - Regina was a mess when she came to us. Due to a nasopharyngeal polyp, her breathing was restricted, her eating, even sleep was disturbed by the struggle to breathe. We treated her for URI, eye infection, ear infection and finally she was ready for her procedure on 9/20! Her size was a big concern – 2lbs at 14 weeks is very small. You cannot imagine the relief at the report of a grape size polyp being removed from her sinuses! Immediately, she was breathing normally. After recovery, just hours later, she was eating normally! On steroids to reduce the post-surgical inflammation, she is playing and has found her voice – she rarely meowed before, her appetite for canned food is huge! She can sleep deeply, such a happy kitten!
September 27, 2022 – We shared video of Regina’s surgery in the September 23rd blog post – she is now able to breathe normally and become a normal kitten! Her eye is inflamed because the polyp was anchored behind her left eye – steroids and time should make a big difference!
Now - Regina went through so much and was adopted on November 14th by a great family in Streamwood. We look forward to updates about this tiny powerhouse.
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Short video of Regina's polyp removal. Please note, the cat was under sedation the entire time so don't be concerned that it was suffering during the procedure - the suffering was beforehand, and this surgery removed it.
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Have you seen our Adoptables?
While scaled back slightly from pandemic year totals, we will close out 2022 with a total of over 300 successful adoptions. This brings us to a total of ~2740 adoptions since 2013! These cats and kittens will enjoy a warm home, good food and love as a result of the efforts of all of our volunteers and fosters.
To prepare our cats and kittens for adoption in 2022, we engaged 63 foster families, of which 40-45 are generally active at any given time. We have also engaged ~40 volunteers to staff the 14 shifts/week required to care for the friendly cats and kittens in our building, awaiting either foster care or adoption. It truly does take a village!
The volume never seems to slow down, however, so we are always in search of dedicated volunteers and fosters. We still have 70 kittens and 14 adult cats who were received in 2022 and are in foster care awaiting adoption.
Noteworthy among our 2022 adoptees are:
- Squash, Portia, Biskit, Regina and Fries, who all came in with unique and serious medical conditions, were treated (thanks to our generous donors), recovered and have been adopted by loving families.
- Barbie, Cassie, Chloe & Claire, Farrah and Fancy - 6 lovely ladies, who were adopted as kittens in prior years and sadly returned within the last year. They have all been re-adopted into quiet adult homes, better matched with their personalities.
- Jester, Petey and River - 3 healthy rescued FIV+ adult cats who were adopted as solo cats by 3 families, who will help them stay healthy and safe.
While there is much to celebrate, there are still some cats & kittens who have been waiting a long time for their forever home. Senior cats and black cats, in particular, often get overlooked.
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Spotlight: Matthew
Matthew was adopted as a kitten in 2013 and returned this year at 9 years of age because his family had a baby with respiratory issues. Although he is a mature gentleman, Matthew still likes to play with wand toys, but is also chill enough to lounge around and be lazy. He gets anxious in new situations, so he’ll need a calming hand to pet and reassure him everything is OK. Once he acclimates to his new home, he will shower you with love and loud purrs.
Matthew is a talkative guy and will let you know when he is hungry and wants attention. He's kind of a ladies man, as it takes him a little longer to befriend men. He needs a quieter home with kids 10 and above. He would prefer to be your one and only kitty love.
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Spotlight: Jujube
Jujube is a sleek 5-year-old black girl with beautiful green eyes. She came to us malnourished at only 5.4 lbs., with a bad case of fleas and minimal fur as a result of the flea dermatitis. She is now a healthy 8.4 pounds with a gorgeous black fur coat. She loves food! She will even sneak a bite when you are not looking.
Jujube has a sweet and friendly demeanor. Once she gets to know you, she will be your best buddy. She loves to play and jump and explor her surroundings. She is easy to pick up, and when the timing is right for her, she is a true cuddle bug.
Jujube shares her foster home with a male cat. While it took a little while for them to get acquainted, they are now besties. Jujube loves to bring toys to you when she would like more food - did I mention she loves to eat!
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Adoption events are generally held twice a month and alternate locations between our building and the Downers Grove PetSmart in Finley Square Mall. Adoptions occur between events by appointment at our foster homes or our building. The first step in adopting is completing our adoption application which can be obtained by emailing gotfriendlies@feralfixers.org.
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Keeping Up with Working Cats…
Our working cat program has become very successful, with Feral Fixers being able to safely relocate more than 120 cats since 2021.
These are ferals that can’t be returned where they came from, once fixed and vaccinated– either because they are in danger, or their neighborhoods are being destroyed. Others come from hoarding situations or are abandoned inside homes. These cats go to farms, businesses, and backyards – we can place them almost anywhere in the suburbs. We have wonderful barns and working homes who take great care of these cats, and provide shelter, food and water, in exchange for poison-free rodent control. And for some, the cats also become outside companions, hanging in the garden or shop with their caretakers. These cats are literally getting a second chance at life thanks to these working homes, and it’s a win-win situation.
We set up working cats in a cage for 3 weeks, so they can get acclimated to their new home, and feel safe while experiencing all the new sights, sounds, and smells. We are also available for advice and information and can help with medical care if ever needed.
The acclimation period also gives the caretakers a chance to learn more about the kitties, and their personalities. And sometimes we learn a cat wasn’t really feral at all! Or the kitty decided to “change their minds” and now wants to come inside! One such cat is Dooly. He came to us this summer with very little known about him, but we knew he couldn’t go back where he came from. He did not seem interested in people at all and did not want to interact with us. We placed him in a backyard in DuPage County, where there was already a resident working cat. After his acclimation period, and then some time being free – he decided he wanted inside! His caretaker happens to be a volunteer at West Suburban Humane Society, and she was able to get him placed there for adoption! He is now waiting for his forever home!
We always need more working homes – we have placed cats from Oak Lawn to Oak Brook to Starved Rock to Capron, and MANY places in between! If interested, please email us at workingcats@feralfixers.org.
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Coins for Cats!
We're trying something new this year for Frosty Claws - Coins for Cats! Please bring your loose change to Frosty Claws as a donation - details in the video below.
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2022-2023 Holiday Card Photo Contest!
As many of you know, each year Feral Fixers sends out a Holiday Greeting card to everyone on our mailing list.
Beginning with the 2012 card, the picture on the card was chosen from entries made by you, our friends and supporters. While there is no monetary prize awarded for the winning entry, the winning photographer will be credited on the Holiday Card.
And so we would like to recognize the winning picture of “Ginger” for this year's holiday card submitted by Anne S.
We encourage you to submit your own photos of outdoor cats in winter. The picture should definitely say "winter" and "outdoor cat" and “snow”. We can accept pictures in nearly any format as long as the resolution is acceptable.
Thank you Anne - this picture of “Ocho” truly says "winter" and "outdoor cat"!
The deadline for entering is April 15, 2023.
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Calendar of upcoming events
January 15, 2023 - The return of Frosty Claws! - We are working on 2023 Frosty Claws! Sunday, January 15th, 12 noon to 4pm at the Villa Park VFW, 39 East St. Charles Rd, Villa Park. An open house with food, cat people, fundraisers, boutique and information, we are so glad to be able to return to these events! If you would like to donate to the Silent Auction or Door Prizes, notify Tammy at tnr.tammy@yahoo.com – receipt of donations needs to be ASAP – takes time to create! More details, including how to purchase Early-Bird special rate tickets, can be found elsewhere in this newsletter. Look forward to seeing you ALL!
April 15, 2023 - Photo Contest Deadline! - This is the deadline for sending in photo entries for the 2023-2024 Holiday Card Contest. We are sure to have plenty of snow for the Holidays! Please think about submitting a photo for our Holiday Card Contest for 2023 – snow, eartip and outside are the only criteria. Check out our website for complete rules and past winners! Please send your submissions to photocontest@feralfixers.org.
Upcoming Adoption Events!
We have 6 (SIX!) upcoming Adoption Events; 3 of them at the PetSmart at 1550 Butterfield Rd in Downers Grove and the other 3 at our building in Lombard. All events are from 11am to 3pm. All of our cats/kittens are in Foster homes, are spayed/neutered, current on their vaccinations, microchipped, dewormed and FeLV/FIV tested. You can see all our adoptable cats by clicking on the Want to Adopt? link at the top of our website.
January 7, 2023 - PetSmart Adoption Event! - If you would like to get pre-approved for same-day adoption, please email us (by noon Friday, January 6th) at gotfriendlies@feralfixers.org.
January 21, 2023 - Feral Fixers Lombard building Adoption Event! - If you would like to get pre-approved for same-day adoption, please email us (by noon Friday, January 20th) at gotfriendlies@feralfixers.org.
February 4, 2023 - PetSmart Adoption Event! - If you would like to get pre-approved for same-day adoption, please email us (by noon Friday, February 3rd) at gotfriendlies@feralfixers.org.
February 18, 2023 - Feral Fixers Lombard building Adoption Event! - If you would like to get pre-approved for same-day adoption, please email us (by noon Friday, February 17th) at gotfriendlies@feralfixers.org.
March 4, 2023 - PetSmart Adoption Event! - If you would like to get pre-approved for same-day adoption, please email us (by noon Friday, March 3rd) at gotfriendlies@feralfixers.org.
March 18, 2023 - Feral Fixers Lombard building Adoption Event! - If you would like to get pre-approved for same-day adoption, please email us (by noon Friday, March 17th) at gotfriendlies@feralfixers.org.
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Sign up for our Mailing List!
If someone has forwarded this you and you're not on our regular Email List, we invite you to SIGN UP and receive regular newsletters and notices from us.
All you have to do is click here, enter your email address and then fill out the very brief form presented to you. That way you'll be one of the first to be "In the Know" about all the goings on at Feral Fixers - thank you!
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Check us out on the Web
Please visit our website at www.feralfixers.org. There you can donate to us (via PayPal or credit card), find out about all the ways you can help Feral Fixers, visit our store, read the latest news, and learn more about feral cats. You can see our list of Adoptable cats, follow the ‘running total’ of how many cats we’ve had spayed/neutered, see the current list of Upcoming Events, check out past years Archived articles, read about our Friends and Partners, sign up for our mailing list and much, much more!
We also have very active Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and (new!) TikTok pages. From these pages, you can get the latest information about what we are doing - often before it shows up on the blog! Links for all these pages are on our website home page. And don't forget to "Like" us on Facebook and the good karma will surely flow your way- Thank you!
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What is Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR)?
TNR is a full management plan in which stray and feral cats already living outdoors in cities, towns, and rural areas are humanely trapped, evaluated, vaccinated, and sterilized by veterinarians.
When space is available, adoptable cats and kittens are transferred to sheltering organizations to be adopted into good homes. Healthy adult cats unsocialized to humans are returned to their familiar habitat under the lifelong care of their original caretakers.
(note: you can see a full-size version of many of the pictures in this email simply by clicking on them)
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Feral Fixers, NFP, is a certified 501c3 corporation - EIN Number 13-4364615 |
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