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April Is Coming

We're getting calls, caretakers are impatient but snow is still in the forecast and we have to wait to do large numbers of cats. Yes, it is 55 during the day but still dropping to the low twenties at night. We will be doing our big trips starting in May, trying to cope with situations that can't wait up til then, but everyone is going to have to be patient.

On 2/21 we took Bunny, a feral, to GEAH with a severe laceration on his back, he was healthy in all other respects so we proceeded with the repair and neutered him. Returned to vet on 3/2 as he was not healing, wound was cleaned, a drain was placed and he was wrapped in a bandage to hold everything in place. On 3/6 he went back for a recheck, took a sample for culture. On 3/9, back again, cleaned again, drain was removed and bandage was removed – happy day! and started on a different antibiotic as culture indicated an unusual bacteria – actinomyces, turns out those infections are often severe and require a drain. He is scheduled for a re-check on 3/16, he's eating well and seems to be healing. You never know what you might be getting into with these cats! His bill comes to about $1500 currently. Without intervention, he definitely would have died a painful death. Please think about donating towards his bill in our Facebook fundraiser.

Before going to the vet		After 1st trip to vet, feeling better

Incision all stitched up and drain removed 3/9		Incision doing really well today (3/14) but clear that this was not his idea!

Well bandaged and secure		What did I do to deserve this?

On 2/26 we sent 1 friendly and 4 ferals to ADOPT, 2 males, 3 females. On 3/12 we sent 2 ferals to ADOPT, 1 male, 1 female – the male from that location where the cats are in danger. This brings us to 16 17 cats in February, 2 cats in March for a year total of 22 23 and 12,471 12,472 since our start in 2007.

Happening At The Building

It is time for all the smaller projects and purchases to take place. From purchasing shelving on wheels, foldable banquet tables and a cart to store them on, to purchasing and setting up cages for the ISO room, we still have a lot to do! The Fund Our Ferals' Future Giving Grid Campaign is all about the building, whether it is purchasing those permanent supplies, keeping the lights on or making sure the garbage gets picked up, this fundraiser makes sure we can continue to support the cats we care for! We will be participating in the DuPage Giving Days Fundraiser as well from April 26 to April 30. Please donate and help us reach our goals!

Donation of 5 office chairs from our Amazon List! Huge rack for storing crates, so much less work to store		We're putting everything on wheels! Cart for our new tables - lots of space flexibility

Walmart Registry For Good & Chewy Gives Back

Bluntly, trying to shop for us on Walmart has been a real pain in the past. Now, Walmart seems to have created a much easier to use Registry For Good. We just got approval and put up our wish list – we'll work on more items. Some things, such as Special Kitty cat litter, appear to be unavailable thru this list, but there is an option for Gift Cards so that we can purchase items like that ourselves!

Chewy has started a new program Chewy Gives Back.  Click on "give back", select Feral Fixers and go to our wish list – we will be working on adding more items, but they also have a Gift Card option!

Thank you to everyone for supporting us so generously!

Winter Feral Cat Care

Still Not Trapping, But…

While we cannot plunge into full-fledged TNR, there have been situations that we were able and had to respond to. On 2/3, Blizzard (male, feral) went to Glen Ellyn Animal Hospital with an abscessed wound on his tail. Since he had to be sedated to care for the injury, he was neutered at the same time. He has NOT decided to be friendly but is now healed and as soon as the weather improves, will go back outside. We received a call from a guy who had gone to great lengths to care for a group of ferals – renting a garage just to house them. The landlord discovered this and said they had to go. We were contacted 4 days before the deadline. Luckily one of our volunteers had the use of space to house them temporarily. Most were able to be loaded into carriers by the caretaker, one had to be trapped. These 8 cats would sing (okay, yowl) most of the night for the first 3 nights – this happens as cats try to make themselves feel better about such a huge change. They suddenly became more settled on the 4th day, only one continuing to yell – but that seemed to be because she wanted to be petted! A man was threatening to shoot the ferals in his yard. He wasn't going to change, cats needed to be trapped and removed. They seem to come from down the street, we'll be pursuing that location as soon as we can for TNR. First cat turned out to be quite friendly, 2nd is not super feral, we'll see. On 2/16, we sent 10 cats to ADOPT, since we needed to be sure we wouldn't have to go back and eartip later if they did not become adoptable, they were all done as ferals. With these, we've done 11 cats so far in February, 15 for 2021, our grand total is 12,464! Again, we are dragging our feet on further surgeries until the weather improves around the end of March.

Honey

Another Microchips Are Forever Story – In May 2011, we removed a total of 19 cats from a trailer in Plainfield, back when we were more likely to do hoarding situations. Those cats had a range of outcomes. Some were too feral and were relocated to a pig sanctuary that needed cats to cope with mice in the grain storage area. Some went for adoption to PAWS and to PURRS, some were adoptions from Feral Fixers later in 2011. Microchips are forever and we have new information about Honey. She was adopted thru Feral Fixers. Those adopters had a life change, surrendered her to DuPage County Animal Services in May 2020. We had no place to put her (2020!) and she was transferred to Chicagoland Animal Rescue from DCAS (CAR takes in a lot of older or less easily adoptable cats from DCAS – thank you!). After a brief stay with CAR, Honey AKA Oksana was adopted by a wonderful man on 7/15/20. What a long road and we're very glad to have played a part in it!

Honey aka Oksana in her new home

Petting A Cat Releases Endorphins

We knew there was more to petting a cat than just making the CAT happy, right? Turns out it increases our endorphins, making US happy, too! Does having one cat make us want more because of our physical response?

More SNOW!

I will admit to wanting more snow than in previous years so that we could have some great candidates for our Holiday card this year. I did not ask for this much, I'm sure of it! Please don't waste this opportunity to catch pictures of your ferals and have the opportunity to share your special feral with thousands of others! Please send your high definition, clear photo to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by April 15th – the deadline will be here before you know it! Make sure we can see the eartip and there is some snow in the pic, our only criteria!

Moving Day – Storage Unit!

This is not everything we'd like to store here.

Building Progress

Not earth-shattering change, but we now have a dumpster! And a contract for our snow-plowing! I'm figuring that most people don't have any idea what those things cost when you own a building? A 2-yard dumpster – smallest possible, picked up twice a month (least frequency) is $64/month. The snow removal, now, that was an eye-opener. Over 2", shovel the walks, de-icer spread, that's $124 a trip. Additional cost for heavier snowfalls. We needed someone we could rely on completely to get the job done, so the friend of so-and-so's uncle's next-door neighbor wasn't something we felt we could do for now, but we may be open to discussion for next year 😊! Again, these are consistent expenses, and any help with them would be greatly appreciated!

2021 Off To A Slow Start – Thank Goodness!

While we are not actively trapping, things happen. One caretaker did not get the memo and brought an older kitten (past taming) into his bathroom and wanted her spayed. Another feral had severe bite injuries to both front paws and one ear but was otherwise healthy. Our LAST two kittens from 2020 were ready for s/n!

On 1/21, one feral female went to ADOPT; caretaker was going to house her in garage til she could be let back outside. On 1/27, the injured male feral was neutered and cared for at Glen Ellyn Animal Hospital. On 1/29, two friendlies, one male and one female, were neutered at ADOPT. The January total is 4 cats, year-to-date is four cats, and our total since our start is 12,453! We do not plan to do additional surgeries until the end of February, and those are situations we already know about. We will still be saying no, wait until the end of March.

Ziggy's Story

Ziggy is the feral who was neutered at Glen Ellyn Animal Hospital, and at the same time his injuries were cared for. Winter is very hard on us at Feral Fixers, so many animals end up sick and injured at the end of the year – it's like they have used up all their oompf. We don't usually neuter cats at Glen Ellyn; they cannot discount a neuter surgery as much as the high volume clinics dedicated solely to s/n; we try to do just a few a year and weigh the need to sedate more than once against housing an unneutered cat and the additional cost. Planning a Facebook fundraiser for Ziggy as the cost for the treatment and the neuter will be about $475. It sounds like a lot but has been life-saving for Ziggy. As with most ferals when first coming in from the outside, he ate like crazy after surgery but has since relaxed and started eating a normal amount now. No indication that he wishes to be an indoor cat, but we'll see. That shouldn't always be what we rely on to make our decisions.

Catnip Mystery Solved!

Intoxicating chemicals in catnip and silver vine protect felines from mosquito bites  

"Rubbing against catnip and silver vine transfers plant chemicals that researchers have now shown protect cats from mosquitoes. The results also demonstrate that engaging with nepetalactol, which the study identified as the most potent of many intoxicating iridoid compounds found in silver vine, activates the opioid reward system in both domesticated felines and big jungle cats. While nepetalactol had been previously identified, these studies directly illuminate its extremely potent effect on cats. And by revealing the biological significance of well-known feline behaviors, the study opens the door to further inquiry into how nepetalactol's twin effects - pest repellence and intoxication - may have driven the evolution of these behaviors."

I had never heard of silver vine before this article – it's indigenous to China and Korea, but since this article, I have seen advertisements of cat toys made with silver vine. I had also heard of people rubbing catnip on themselves to repel mosquitoes. So glad there has been more research on the effects of catnip – there's a reason for everything! Plant a patch for your ferals!

(click on any of the picture thumbnails to see a full-size version)

We appreciate all the people who have continued to care about the cats. Many new caretakers had the time to resolve the cats around them. Extra time spent at home led to lots of new fosters and some foster failures as those families adopted their fosters, unable to part with them. People spending more time at home led to many more kittens being brought in and the longest "kitten season" we've ever experienced with the extended balmy weather. We formed tighter bonds with the area rescues as we all went thru the same challenges.

All those kittens took a toll on our fosters, our s/n transporters and Sue, our adoption counselor. There were individual kittens that actually received 40 – 50 inquiries EACH! But each of these kittens go to the best home possible for them as individuals and the alumni stories we receive validate the effort put into that goal. Please take the time to read the foster story included in this newsletter, we have some very impressive volunteers.

Thru it all we kept going as our physical interactions with people are limited and usually outdoors. A few fosters experienced COVID, most of us have been able to remain healthy.

Our ability to fundraise has been greatly impacted as cat people are much more social with other cat people than one might think and they greatly enjoy our in-person events!

A Few Notes About the Building

We try to wash and disinfect our traps before they go into Winter storage so they can be used immediately in the Spring. We were able to transport them all to the building, the railing spacing on the ramp made it very easy to get them into the building, the new washtub was able to hold 4 traps (3 large, 1 small) at once, so simple! And there was plenty of room for spraying with a blast of disinfectant, rinsing and shipping off to storage!

Fundraising

Just a few more days of our Black Cat Giving Tuesday Fundraiser. We hope the 2021 Feral Fixers Happy New Year! Raffle helps to replace our Frosty Claws event and provide something our donors will enjoy participating in.

For many reasons, I receive emails from a great many non-profits. That means that I see how they promote their organizations and ask for money. We do our very best to be different, low-volume and specific about our needs. I can't imagine how weary some of you must be, bombarded on a daily basis by every group for human, environmental, political and animal needs. I could say negative things about those other groups but would instead reaffirm that funds donated to Feral Fixers work to benefit the cats in this geographic area. Surgeries, medications, food, transportation, supplies, a building to house them in, it all goes towards the cats. The percentage of funds used for fundraising (administrative costs are often a high percentage of total costs) is minimal. We adapt ideas and make our asks as enjoyable as possible 😸. We will never be able to give up fundraising but promise to keep the annoyance to a minimum!

We have personal relationships with our donors and we appreciate them so much!

Happy Holidays!

We wish you a Wonderful Holiday and the Best Possible New Year!

Thank you all for your personal messages this year, they are greatly appreciated. Wish we could thank you all individually!

DuPage Giving Days

S/N Still Shut Down

While we cannot hold spay days yet, cats continue to come our way.  On March 25^th, one of our volunteers picked up a cat that was supposed to be friendly – the people had even put a collar on him and a leash before they picked him up and put him in a carrier for our volunteer.  Gets to my garage – totally different behavior, hissing on the sight of me.  That happens sometimes.  He had an ear tip but a really bad eye – looked mushy.  Left on its own it might have just dried up but he looked to be in pain.  Cases like this are very difficult, ferals cannot be treated the way friendlies can – no topical meds, limited oral meds, it can be a battle.  Don't take this the wrong way but unfortunately he had nothing else wrong with him!  It was a real 50-50 situation.  I opted for eye removal, with the hope we would have a supportive relocation site available for when he healed.  Petey refused to eat on his own, we finally negotiated that I would hold his cone with my left hand while syringing a gruel of baby food and fine pate into him, while he growled and chomped on the syringe.  After a few days he would eat small amounts from the saucer overnight.  Day 8, there was an abscess behind the incision and back he went for a re-do.  Cultured the material and Bayril was the right antibiotic.  Liquid med is causing an amazing amount of drool so going back to the vet for tablets that can be crushed and mixed with a small amount of food and syringed.  Wish me luck!  He is not grateful in the slightest!  We cannot give all the cats we encounter this level of care but I am trying with Petey – one of the cats we treat "As If They Were Our Own."

Building

Despite the shut-down, we are able to do some work on the building.  IT wiring will happen very soon and we are fine-tuning the layout and changes.  We will be moving some doors and putting in new ones, taking out a wall, removing the vault – we have no idea why the building had a vault with an enormous, heavy door – like a bank!  We will be changing the types of doors on the rooms so that we will be able to see what the cats are doing before we step in, lots of changes!   Once we get a permit, double doors will be installed on the back of the building, providing easier access for cats in traps, etc.  This will entail a ramp going up to the doors from the parking lot.

We need someone experienced in rehabbing/carpentry, who can help us with these tasks.  We rely heavily on personal recommendations from our donors and volunteers, so please forward your suggestions or ask that they contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..  While permitting may take some time, the sooner we have someone to work with, the sooner we can make plans for this part of the process.

Microchip Wand

There's always something new!  We thought it was great when they came up with the pole microchip scanner but the round scanning end does have its issues.  Now, with this model, a cat could be scanned in almost any situation and claims to be reliable two inches away from the chip.  We get feral cats in carriers, traps, crates, and using the round scanner can have its risks.  Looks like this could be threaded into any container.  If you are looking to donate equipment, while not an emergency need, it would make our lives just that bit easier!

Food Donation Program Volunteers Needed

We receive food donations from Rescue Pack, paying only the shipping costs.  The canned and dry food is delivered to a trucking company in Carol Stream.  We also can receive litter and other supplies.  We support feral cat colonies and low-income families with limited resources.  These donations are palletized and can weigh 1,000 to 2,000lbs for each skid.  We are limited to two vehicles doing pick up on a distribution day.  We store the supplies and pass them out to the people we support.

The volunteers who have taken care of this for the last 3 years are moving out of the area and can no longer do any part of these responsibilities.  What we need:

1. Availability on a Saturday AM – sometimes due to inclement weather, distribution can get bumped to the next day. Distributions can be every one to two months depending on product availability.
2. Access to a vehicle (truck, large SUV, etc.) that can be loaded by forklift. Special arrangement needs to be made for hand loading and it really slows down their process.  They service about 90 organizations on that one day distribution.  There are truck rental companies that give us a discount on rental but we need someone comfortable driving a large delivery truck.
3. Physically able to assist with unloading.
4. Storage availability for 1 to 4 skids of canned and dry food – garage or warehouse space. Litter and other supplies could be stored elsewhere.  Arrangements can be made for recipients to come pick up same day as much as they can transport but that is not always possible.  Availability for pickup from your location at pre-arranged times by our recipients.  Our new building will not be able to hold this volume of donations and we need to have an alternative.  Unexpected donations from other sources can happen, too.
5. One person does not have to be responsible for all aspects of the program. There is usually a two-week warning of an upcoming distribution.

Due to the pandemic, we don't know when the next distribution will take place as resources are being concentrated in hot spots.

Please contact Tammy This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 630-881-3977 if you may have the resources to take on this program in whole or a portion of it.

Finally, a reminder... April 15 is the deadline for sending in photo entries for the 2020-2021 Holiday Card Contest. As many of you know, each year Feral Fixers sends out a Holiday Greeting card to everyone on our current 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. The picture should definitely say "winter" and "outdoor cat". A shelter would be nice, but is certainly not required. We can accept pictures in nearly any format as long as the resolution is acceptable. Please send your submissions to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Good luck!

Thank you to everyone who continue support us!

Stay Safe!  Stay Healthy!