Fantastic Garage Sale – June 26th!
More Garage Sales this year, finally! Many people have been holding onto stuff for our next Garage Sale. June 26th is the date! 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!!! As we have done in the past, drop off dates are June 21st through June 25th 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, June 26th from 8AM to 3PM at that location. Keep your fingers crossed for good weather!
Quarterly Report from Amazon Smile
We received our quarterly donation from Amazon Smile, covering January 1, 2021 to March 31, 2021 - $503.52! We receive .5% of what our donors spend which means that you all spent $100,704 and designated Feral Fixers on each purchase! Whoo-Hoo!
Mouse Plague in Australia
Perhaps you remember the all-out war that Australia declared on feral cats in 2015 and it is still going on. I will not include links to articles detailing the hunting still being done on that continent. Is it wrong that I feel that they are getting just what they deserve by being overrun by mice? Australia's answer appears to be poison when they have access to an animal designed to eliminate mice.
Cancer In Cats
Genetically modified organism (GMO) ingredients such as corn, soy, alfalfa and cottonseed in pet foods are culprits in causing cancer because they can contain high concentrations of glyphosates. The World Health Organization International Agency for Research on Cancer declared glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide, to be a probable human carcinogen, and research indicates that it does cause cancer in animals. In humans, taking the amino acid glycine can block absorption of glyphosate. It would be great if studies were done on cat foods including supplemental glycine, much the same way taurine was added so long ago.
No TNR On 6/17
Taking the week off, so do not trap from 6/11 to 6/21 unless you intend to keep them at your house! Hoping to work a few more weeks off into this year, cross your fingers!
More Than 12,700 Cats since 2007!
We've been using doing all our surgeries at DCAS the past 4 weeks – just one trip in a week, but still plenty!
5/13 we sent 2 friendlies, 22 ferals with 10 males and 14 females.
5/20 we sent 2 friendlies, 9 ferals with 5 males and 6 females. Just enough rain to slow us down.
5/27 there were 12 friendlies, 11 ferals with 14 males and 9 females. There was an additional female who decided to give birth that morning and was in the middle of her first kitten when we arrived at the building. The kitten seemed stuck in the birth canal, never encountered that before, so off they went to Glen Ellyn. Either due to stress or travel, kitten was out by the time we arrived. Just to see what to expect, the vet took an x-ray, 4 more were expected. Back to the building (around 9AM) where it was nice and quiet. Check in at 1PM and the remaining 4 had been delivered and seemed to be doing well. By that evening we were able to send them to the mom & babies foster that already had a set from the same colony that had been delivered the night before at the building with 4 kittens. Net gain - 9 kittens from one location. Impossible to know how pregnant or if truly pregnant these females may be – we call these "Blessed Events."
6/3 there were 17 friendlies, 7 ferals with 14 males and 10 females. With this trip we started spay/neuter of the kittens we got in April, dozens more to go! We also had a very beat up brown tabby, just seemed worn out but no specific injuries to be seen. We sent him in, FIV+ and needs a canine removed, which may account for his seeming to be down. He's in a crate, waiting for a dental (appointments are very backed up, we may not get him in until late July) and seeming to appreciate the food and attention – so many cats are turning friendly this year!
This brings us to a total of 77 cats in May, 24 cats so far in June, 259 so far in 2021 and 12,708 since our start in 2007. Last year we had done 215 by the END of June, in 2019 we had done 239 by the end of June. We are already well ahead of "normal" still! Many thanks to Karen, April, Cheri, Laura, Edie, Mark, Diane, Kim, Debbie, Charli, Dedra for trapping and transporting all of these cats! Many thanks to the caretakers who are contacting us and trapping! A lot of people to make a big difference!
Cats from 5/13 trip | Most of the 17 kittens on 6/3, on their way! |
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I want to go home - sound on! |
Consequences Of Trapping
What happens when you trap feral cats? You get KITTENS and FRIENDLIES! Feral Fixers makes every effort to pull those adoptable cats and not send them back outside. Friendlies do stupid things, get injured, get trapped in garages/sheds with no food or water, they just don't have the same survival instincts. The consequences of pulling cats from the outside are that we need FOSTERS! Imagine trapping in an area that you've already done over 50 cats and a kitten comes out and starts yelling at you and clearly wants to be trapped. This same kitten immediately starts purring when touched while in the trap. That same kitten looks at you with so much gratitude after he's neutered. Now, imagine you have no foster for he and his brother/cousin from the same location? He is so ready to move forward and learn what being in a home is like but is being delayed because there is no foster home to send the two of them to. There is a lot of stress in Rescue and TNR and this is a big one. You may not be able to foster 365 days/year, you may only be able to do one litter a year, you may only be able to foster an adult that just needs a quiet place to adjust until he finds his forever home. There are different levels of care, all cats are individuals. If you are interested in Fostering, please fill out our online Foster Questionnaire. We take pride in our foster program and you will learn so much from our fabulous cats & kittens!