Yesterday we processed 15 more cats at the PAWS-Chicago Spay/Neuter clinic bringing our monthly total to 107. That's a lot of cats in anybody's book! This first picture is of the cats stacked up outside the clinic while I was waiting for my name to be called to check in - the PAWS clinic was packed and there was no place to put them inside.

Again, showing the diverse locations where we find these cats, 3 of them were from Lombard (2 locations), 6 of them were from Elmhurst (2 more locations), 4 cats were from Berkeley and 2 were from Hanover Park. Yes, I know that Berkeley is not in DuPage County, but its close and they have a feral cat problem, so we're helping out...

The 100th cat we did this month was a gray, male cat from Lombard named Babar. This picture of him in the trap was taken after I had brought him back from the PAWS clinic. I love the gray cats - the color is so cool and they look so regal.

I did the transport both ways today. There is an alley directly next to the PAWS clinic and it's fairly heavily trafficed. But this was Sunday and there were no parking places open near the clinic so I took a chance and parked in the alley while I unloaded the cats. I was lucky and no one tried to get through the alley while I was unloading - nor did I see any police cars. When picking the cats up, I was able to, again, find a parking spot in front of the clinic to load up. I do think the new parking meter rates I wrote about earlier is definitely helping matters here - the spots open up fairly frequently and, with just a little bit of patience, you can find a spot. It sure is easier than carrying the cats all the way around the building and to the parking lot in back.

This brings our yearly total up to 151 cats and our overall total up to 764 cats. We're starting to take bets on when we process our 1,000th cat! ☺

(Clicking on either picture thumbnail will show you a larger version of the picture)

We processed 8 cats on Tuesday and 8 more today, Thursday. I did the transport both ways, both days. All the crew at the PAWS-Chicago Spay/Neuter clinic know me now (and I know most of their names ☺). I bring in Donuts or Candy as a morning 'gift' to the PAWS staff once in a while (I did today) and the workers there sure appreciate it. As usual, its the people behind the scenes that get the actual work done and are the unsung heroes of the spay/neuter efforts. My hat is off to them - thank you PAWS!

One very unfortunate event did happen at PAWS today - a feral escaped. Someone new to TNR brought in 3 ferals to PAWS; the 'momma' was brought in a carrier (for reasons unknown to me) while two of her kittens were brought in together in a single trap. The PAWS personnel told the person bringing in the cats that they would have to transfer the 'momma' from the carrier to a trap and would also have to put the kittens in separate traps. While the person was attempting to transfer the momma from the carrier to a trap, the cat escaped out onto the street and then to parts unknown. Hopefully, she'll find her way home. I wish I would have been there when the attempted transfer took place - I think (having worked with Tammy on very similar issues), I could have helped make this transfer a successful event. The kittens were successfully separated into separate traps and then 'processed' by PAWS.

Memo to anyone bringing in ferals to PAWS (or any other place that will work with them): Each cat has to be in a trap (not a carrier) and, only one cat to a trap. The reasoning behind this is quite solid; the PAWS personnel have to anaesthesize the ferals before they can begin to work on them. As ferals are, well, feral, they do not cooperate in this procedure. The only safe way to do this is to have them in a trap. A trap divider is then used to push the feral to one end of the cage and immobilize it. While the cat is immobilized, the anaesthesia can be administered to the cat through the trap. Doing this is just not possible in a carrier; hence the requirement that the cats be in traps before the PAWS personnel will work with/on them. Again, it was a truly unfortunate event, but sometimes this stuff happens...

Anyway, with these 16 cats this week, we have now processed 123 cats for the month of March - easily a record for Feral Fixers. This brings our yearly total up to 167 cats and our overall total to 780 cats! Our thanks go to all of the volunteer drivers and trappers who have helped Feral Fixers reach these numbers.

We're taking a short break now as, frankly, we're pretty burnt out. We'll be starting up again, week after next.