This YEAR is going fast!
On 8/12, 18 cats went to DCAS, 16 friendlies and 2 ferals of which 10 were female and 8 were male. Of the friendlies there were 9 kittens that were from a Blessed Event with two different moms from the same location, a day apart. This brings us to a total of 64 cats from one location – a trucking company in an industrial area with a constant influx of new cats. Cats hitch rides on trucks all the time!
On 8/13, 7 friendlies went to ADOPT, 4 females and 3 males.
8/19, 4 friendlies went to DCAS, 3 females and 1 male. We've been working on the location they came from since the end of April and now have done 49 cats from that one spot – sooo many kittens!
8/20, 1 male feral to ADOPT. Got a call early enough in the morning, ADOPT answered the phone!, gave us a slot, got him there – done as a feral, very friendly, got a snap test in case he can go for adoption.
You'll notice the numbers are down. First, we had a viral outbreak at the building, some of it inconclusive, so we slowed the flow in down to nothing, then several of us got the flu (no, not COVID) and we stayed at a standstill, only able to coordinate foster kittens being sent in. Very frustrating! We don't have people to fill our shoes if we are sick, unfortunately. Takes a particular skill set and mind set to do this work, not everyone can do it. We are recovered now so hopefully we will resume full steam!
Despite our challenges, our totals for August so far are 30 cats, for the year – 452 and since our start – 12,901!
Caretaker had just started to try to trap this guy and unexpectedly he went right in. Luckily, things fell into place to get him in for neuter the same day - DOES NOT usually happen that way! Seems friendly, may end up on our Adoptables list. Keep an eye out for Trucker. |
One more picture of Trucker! |
After surgery at the DCAS mobile unit, the cats are stacked in the garage - here's 18 awaiting pickup! |
Canned Food Plea Gets Results!
Thank you to everyone who donated to our plea for canned food! Deliveries are still made to my house for now till we are at the building full time and one day there were 4 separate deliveries – Chewy, Amazon, Sam's, Walmart. Thank you to everyone who donated – you are so generous! I think we're set for a couple months and we will try to keep a consistent flow in so we're not caught by surprise again!
Here is part of the donations received from our plea for canned food:
At my house there are still 60 24 packs, litter scoops, and several bags of dry food to bring to the building. That's at least 2,000 cans of food you generous donors sent our way! Woo-hoo! |
As If They Were Our Own
Our fundraiser is doing well! These often take time to gain momentum and often there is a rush towards the end and we usually reach our goal, but you never know! We have 20 more days to go to reach our current goal.
A current "As If They Were Our Own" story: In 2016, we helped an elderly couple in Downers Grove. Despite living across the street from a vet, that vet would not help them. We neutered two cats which both ended up going to a shelter. There was a third pet cat, a 13 year old male that hadn't been to the vet in years. We brought him in to Glen Ellyn Animal Hospital to be updated and it went very well. Fast forward, John, the man, calls. He would like his now at least 17 year old cat to be checked out, has no funds – his wife has passed and he no longer has that income to help with expenses and the vet that is located so close is blowing him off. John says Sambo (he's a black cat and these people are from another era) is healthy but he wants to be sure. John is facing treatment for lung cancer, doing the responsible thing and making sure his cat is okay, even though he doesn't have the resources himself. This is what we use these funds for. So many cats do not get the care they need, we try to fill in the blanks as best we can.
Just 20 days left, please share our fundraiser!
Next Adoption Event
Our next adoption event at the building will be on Saturday, 9/11. 15 out of 31 cats & kittens on our Petfinder are black right now, plus a couple of black & white. We have even more black cats & kittens that are not posted yet. Every year we reach a point where there are more black cats on hand for adoption than other coat colors. It is a genetically dominant color. We have many adopters that see how wonderful black cats are – my opinion is that they try harder to be extra adoptable 😊 – and our multiple cat adoptions are often of black cat families. One story I tell is of a woman who always brought in black cats so that her husband (who couldn't tell the difference as well), didn't know for sure just how many cats they had so he never had a problem with the cats. Of course, with Feral Fixers adoptions, all family members need to be informed and supportive of the new kitties! Please check out our Petfinder page, fill out an application in advance and come visit our cats!
Rescue Pack Chicago
We received a distribution from Rescue Pack Chicago on 8/21 – 2 ½ skids of canned food. On 7/24 we received 1 ½ skids of dry food. Often this food may be flavors or consistencies we don't usually feed to our fosters – we try to hold off on fish and shreds are not always a kitten favorite – we try to stay as consistent as possible with the cats on hand. Ferals are another matter – they are not as picky, they have a wide variety of food sources (more than one stop on the buffet line) so we can help our caretakers with food from Rescue Pack whenever we are able to. You never know when the next shipment might happen so stocking up is important – it may be six months before the next distribution of cat food. We're so glad to have Rescue Pack Chicago as a resource to help the ferals and strays already TNR'd in colonies and ferals we are trapping. Many thanks to Todd Gronke – UHaul in Elmhurst and to Kim, Keith, Mark, Karen & Debbie. Please let us know if you might be able to help unload and load on these days with a week's notice – many hands make light work!
This is from the 7/24 distribution. They got so busy with the 8/21 load that they forgot to take pictures. We received 2 1/2 skids of canned food Saturday which should help our caretakers and fosters out! All passed out, amazing how fast it goes! |
Distribution doesn't start until 9AM but it pays to be at the head of the line - 8AM. This is what it looks like before all the forklifts start their dance! Big shoutout to Todd Gronke - The Car & Truck Repair Shop - who donated the use of a truck for this pickup - Thank you! |
(Click on any of the picture thumbnails to see a full-size version)