Feral Cat Day Event

"As If They Were Our Own"

We've passed the halfway point in our fundraising in the "As If They Were Our Own" Giving Grid. This has been a difficult year, so many ferals are aging and requiring help. We are glad to provide that care and really appreciate your donations that make that possible. We have an updated picture of Valentino, all healed! Please think of those cats that have no one else and share the information for our fundraiser so that we can continue to be there for them! Share our fundraiser with friends and family so that we can meet our goal!

Donations

Last year we received a lot of donations from our donors as they made their Required Minimum Distributions – so many were so generous! Here is some basic information from this year – 2020, everything is different! This has been a hard year, that year-end donation may not be possible for our donors. We're bringing it up early as our yearly January Frosty Claws event is questionable – one of our biggest fundraisers. We will do our yearly Giving Tuesday fundraiser at the end of November – we are currently asking for matching funds for that event.

Building – Ramp + more!

Lots of progress on the ramp going up to the new double doors at the back of the building – framed in, most of sidewalk removed, pouring in the next week? Molding around the wall bases done inside! Starting on the sinks and appliance installations. Much yet to do but we're getting there! We couldn't do this without your donations, please continue to support this huge change for Feral Fixers!

Start of construction of the ramp that will go up to new double doors!

We will have to remove more sidewalk than initially thought but progress on the ramp!

End Of October is Coming!

Still working too hard and making multiple trips and more in the next three weeks to get kittens neutered and take care of all the ferals we can before it gets too cold. Again, last feral trip is October 29th. We neutered another 72 cats in September, bringing that total to 95 and so far have done 15 in October, for a total for the year of 528 and 12,213 since our beginning in 2007. There's a frost warning in the next week or so and the temps will go down from there! Let's get 'em done!

Two too many to wait another 6 days for s/n, we asked for additional slots to get them done!

Had to put up an additional table for 9/24

The extra table

Debbie trapped a feral in her yard!

See that orange towel? Mom & 3 babies under there!

As day follows night...There are kittens every time we trap

Kittens were all in trap just for the purpose of transport and sorted out upon arrival at the garage.

Laura trapped 19 cats/kittens AND got those 10 tiny kittens - 29 in two days for 9/24 trip

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

Building – Huge Changes!

The new double doors have been installed at the back of the building. The picture on the left shows the start of the demo while the picture on the right shows the framing for the door. There will be a ramp installed along the sidewalk to allow easier access to the North side of the building and TNR room.

It still looks rough around the edges - moulding yet to be done, but flooring (pictures on the left and in the middle) in and 1st coat of paint! The picture on the right shows the new epoxy/poured floor in TNR and laundry rooms - this was poured in just the last few days!

Trap Security

From blog posts around the country and beyond, many trappers encounter ferals escaping from traps. Here is how we have resolved some of those issues:

HavAHart traps can have a flimsy trap door that can be drawn in towards the cat and the cat presses on the door, raises it and gets out. 10lb+ cats need extra security! Placing something as simple as a tent stake thru the mesh in front of the door brace prevents it from moving backwards and allowing the door to lift.

TruCatch traps will open when rolled over. Also, cats can draw in towels, newspaper and plastic covering tables to raise the rings holding the back door down. A clip on a chain will hold one end closed – caribiners get lost so easily. A twist of wire thru the rings and the frame will hold the back door in place. These changes would add so much to the purchase costs but are a very inexpensive fix for us to do "aftermarket."

TruCatch and HavAHart traps with "aftermarket upgrades" applied.

Ways To Donate

We received another AmazonSmile quarterly donation of $311! Purchases made thru AmazonSmile with Feral Fixers as the designated charity results in .5% being contributed to us! It may not sound like a lot, $62,000 was spent to get us that $311 but it is one of the easiest ways to raise funds – you're going to make the purchase anyway, why shouldn't something go to charity? Once the building is up and running our Amazon Wish List will grow but donations made from the list thru AmazonSmile benefits us doubly!

It is becoming easier and easier to set up a monthly donation, thru PayPal or your bank and we receive many this way and rely on that continued support in order to budget for the future. Many thanks to our monthly donors.

Our newest fundraiser is As If They Were Our Own. This fundraiser helps us to support the cats that have no caretakers or even if they have caretakers, they don't have the hundreds of dollars it takes to heal the injuries and illnesses that these ferals and strays show up with. Some kittens have issues that can be resolved with a surgery and they can go on to live full, long lives. Those funds have to come from somewhere. We currently have $3,500 to be matched, we would love to have more donors contribute funds to be matched. Our fundraiser Giving Grid can be accessed here and the preliminary goal will be to match the $3,500 between now and October 16th (which is National Feral Cat Day). Donations have been slower, we haven't had in-person events, we are hoping this fundraiser will be a huge success! The cats count on us for care – even if its some antibiotics to get them thru an upper respiratory to an eye removal when the eye is not going to heal! Keep posted!

Time Is Just Flying By!

Things are working out that we are making multiple trips in a week – due to s/n availability or trapping availability or just the weather! As a result, working harder than last year, looking forward to Winter! We've taken in so many kittens, helped so many injured cats. People are contacting us because other organizations have severely limited their response. Have to keep reminding ourselves that there is only so much we can do, our resources have not expanded while the work has. We neutered 89 cats in August, 23 so far in September for a total for the year of 441 and 12,126 since our beginning in 2007. October is usually our busiest month as caretakers want to get TNR done before it gets too cold. Back in November of 2019, we announced that the last s/n trip for ferals for 2020 would be 10/29/20. We're going to stick with that. We never know what the weather is going to do these days and we need to be sure we do not cause more harm than good! Let's do our best! 

Two loads of cats sent to DuPage County Animal Services. The batch on the left is 24 cats sent in on August 6th while the batch on the right is 23 cats sent in on August 10th.

We've had a couple of polydactyl cats recently! A picture of one of them is on the left, while the picture on the right is of five cats sent to ADOPT on 9/1 (only five, but important to them!).

(Clicking on any of the picture thumbnails will display a larger version of the picture)

Things Are Progressing!

And a couple of short videos to share with you. The first one shows the ancient carpet attached with horrible glue has been removed! New flooring will be one of the last steps. And the second shows the vault has been removed and plumbing roughed in for sinks and washer & dryer!

Garage Sale

The pandemic is still with us. We know that. We would like to try to have a garage sale tho and we've seen others having sales. We are asked constantly when we are going to have one as many people are holding onto stuff for us. We're planning one for August 15th. We'll spread things out, it will be outside and everyone should observe social distancing, we do not want anyone to get sick from this event. Please only donate things that will sell, stuff that if you came across it at a different time you would buy it. NO CLOTHING, NO ELECTRONICS! We emphasize, sellable stuff! If it doesn't sell we have to take it somewhere or get an organization to pick it up from us. Donations in the past have been GREAT and we know that people have had a lot of time to sort thru their belongings and we thank you in advance for sharing those items with us to raise funds!!! Same as previous years, drop off is this coming weekend, August 8 & 9 at 29w560 Butterfield Rd, Warrenville, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to ask questions and arrange anything special. Sale will be Saturday, August 15th from 8AM to 3PM at that location. Keep your fingers crossed for good weather!

More Cats Already!

On 7/30/20, we sent 27 cats to DCAS, 15 friendlies and 12 ferals. One feral was already neutered and one friendly was already neutered, resulting in 15 males and 10 females receiving surgery. This trip also included our 12,000th cat neutered by Feral Fixers! A large, gray/white male, Chester is now already back at his colony and will have a longer and healthier life after being neutered and vaccinated! On 7/31/20 we sent another 5 friendlies into ADOPT, 3 males and 2 females. We have so many kittens on hand now that are available for adoption – please get pre-approved and work with our adoption counselor to bring home that special new family member! Go to our Want to Adopt? and click to fill out the questionnaire. With 30 additional surgeries, the July total is 114, year-to-date is 329 and the total since our start in 2007 is 12,014!​

A couple of notes on the pictures below. The top, right-hand picture shows Veterinarian extraordinaire Dr. Jessica Von Waldau holding up Chester while he was under anesthesia. Cats under anesthesia will usually have open eyes. Ointment is administered as part of the pre-surgery protocol to keep the eyes lubricated and moist during sedation for surgery. It can be alarming to people unfamiliar with cats in surgery but the cats are fully sedated and unaware of their surroundings even if their eyes are open. The sedation causes a disconnect between the eyes and brain, fully restored when the cat awakens. This is not something you see on TV or have common knowledge of, but good to know if you are ever present when your cat is sedated so that you don't worry.

The middle row, right-hand picture is a panorama of the garage. There are more traps in the row behind the carriers.  15 friendlies and 12 ferals sent in that day.

The bottom, right-hand picture is another one of Chester - cats often make caves out of the newspaper in their traps!

DuPage County Animal Services (DCAS) noted on their Facebook Page "It was a great Thursday on our surgical vehicle. Our partners Feral Fixers celebrated helping their 12,000th cat! Since our veterinary vehicle arrived in 2018, we've assisted them with about 900 of those surgeries!

Thanks to Dr. Von Waldau, our vet techs, DuPage Animal Friends, and all the generous donors for making this milestone possible!"

(Click on any of the picture thumbnails to see a larger version of the picture)

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!

2020 Census

The directions for filling out the form says it takes ten minutes.  It took me three.  Even at 10 minutes it is a very worthwhile investment of your time – and it benefits Feral Fixers!

Coronavirus Impact

The virus has impacted Feral Fixers in many ways.

Our Kitten Shower has been cancelled, resulting in fewer donations.  We will be working on other ways to make up for those donations but we cannot replace the good will generated by the event – face to face makes a big difference, our people really enjoy getting together.

Work on the building may be slowed due to restriction of numbers of people and "Stay At Home."

Area vets have limited appointments.  S/N is NOT considered an essential service.  ADOPT Pet Shelter clinic has closed til further notice.  We used the DCAS mobile unit this week, using safe distancing and PPE in the vehicle but the possible overall risk is too great and we will not be able to do s/n until further notice.

Many people are at home, doing Spring Cleaning and want to donate items to Feral Fixers for the building and this year's Garage Sale.  We will not be putting anything in the building until we are done with improvements and we have no date for the Garage Sale as of yet.  Hopefully, you have stored the items for this long, perhaps you can hold onto them a little longer – now you have them boxed up in a space-saving fashion 😊!  And, please, when we are able to get together again, we will appreciate donations for our Silent Auction and door prizes.

Monetary donations – while the Required Minimum Distribution has been postponed for 2020 – many donations come from this source, the Covid-19 stimulus bill allows deductions for $300 charitable contributions in 2020.

Rescue Pack – this is the major source for our food donations.  Due to the panic buying, supplies of donated pet food have been severely impacted.  Temporarily, the focus has been shifted towards moving available donated food supplies to central locations, like animal controls, who may see an immediate impact in the number of animals they care for and have the largest staff numbers on hand in order to accommodate deliveries of food, most shelters have a skeleton crew at best right now.  Supply of food has been cut pretty much in half but they understand the need and will be working hard to hold the next food distribution.

Trapping – this is so frustrating!  We do not want to lose ground and have numbers surge again but we can't do neuter surgeries ourselves!  You know, if I was able, I'd do it myself!!!  We will have to consider each situation and do what we can to mitigate the impact.  If that means nabbing and fostering kittens or leaving them all in place, we will have to judge on the basis of our resources at the time.  So, no solid answers, we'll all have to work together for the best outcome we can achieve.  Last year the surge of kittens happened on April 10^th, calls are starting now.

Numbers To Date

On March 16^th we ended up with two ferals that were trapped without notification, DCAS neutered them for us, both males.  On March 19^th we sent 5 ferals to ADOPT, 2 males, 3 females.  Our last trip to DCAS, for the foreseeable future, was on 4/2 with 7 ferals, 2 males, 5 females.  This brings our March total to 15, April total to 7, year total to 26 and 11,711 since our beginning.

Lots more to say, will post again soon, everyone stay healthy!

Update

We did mail out our invites over the weekend, not expecting the new restrictions.

If we are able to re-schedule, we will do so, but it is looking like months instead of weeks while the world goes thru this. Many other organizations are saying "See you next year." If you know someone who normally attends but does not participate in social media, please let them know about the cancellation.

We don't want anyone to be in a situation where they are exposed to a potentially fatal illness. Done.

We will still be doing TNR. We will stay in close contact with DCAS and ADOPT and are still planning on kicking off full trips in April. We absolutely do not want to lose ground. If caretakers are stuck at home, we might be busier than previous years!

We have cats waiting to be trapped already!

We hope to be able to close on our building this week – much can be done electronically but people have to actually be in their offices to receive and process. Scheduled for March 19th, the ending date of our Fund Our Ferals' Future fundraiser. We'll keep you posted on that front also.

When some normalcy returns we will have an Open House at the new building but cannot plan that date yet.

In the meantime, please take care of yourselves! 

This is a global situation with local ramifications.

You may already be tired of hearing about it but this is not over yet, and Feral Fixers needs to update you one what we're doing.

We have no choice but to continue to do our work.  We cannot lose ground, must continue to care for the cats.  As long as none of us are sick, we will evaluate our own contacts with the public, which is usually one-on-one.  We ask that anyone we will encounter consider our safety.

We have an event scheduled for April 19^th, the Kitten Shower at the VFW in Villa Park.  At this time, the VFW has had no issues, they are wiping down all surfaces after each event they host.  This is still 5 weeks away and so much can change in just 5 weeks with this situation.  The numbers could be worse or we could be on the downside with numbers going down dramatically.  There's so much to do before the day of an event, we'll be sending out postcards today, working on gift baskets, etc.

Right now, we are still planning on holding the event.  Attendance is usually 150 to 200 people, below the limits recently set by Governor Pritzker.  We are not an excessively touchy-feely crowd, we will be supplying everyone with their own pens, providing hand sanitizer, figuring out the food.  We do not have the resources to turn this into a virtual event on short notice and there isn't an alternate time period in the year we can move it to.

We will be monitoring the situation and may still cancel the event.  So many enjoy the Kitten Shower, it may be the only time in the year we get to see our supporters and it is one of our major fundraisers.

We'll see what this looks like in a few weeks and keep everyone informed of our plans, it is a very fluid situation.  DO NOT plan on attending if you feel the slightest bit ill or concerned.  Your health is the most important thing here.  You can turn it into your own virtual event!

Wanted to let everyone know where we are with this!