27 26 More!

12 ferals went to ADOPT on 5/19, 9 males, 3 females. A majority of these cats came from locations we have already trapped at, part of our ongoing efforts to neuter specific colonies as soon as we can. At one location, the cats are not welcome, with no other caretaker known to us, allusions of violence to the cats, this is resulting in our relocating the cats and we will hope no others move into the area. 3 of the males were older and huge and had bleeding issues post surgery – highly likely that they consumed a mouse that had eaten some poison at some point, resulting in the cats not being able to coagulate adequately. PLEASE, find other ways than poison to stop mice! I had no idea how those black boxes work that are placed along business walls – the cats go in, eat poison and leave, taking up to 2 days to die – somehow I thought they died IN there, not the reality.

This brings us to 60 for May, 233 for 2023, 14,185 since our start. If half of year-to-date were female and each had the potential to have 4 kittens, that is an initial removal of 466 kittens from the system. Each female kitten on hand will NOT go on to make more. The males will not become battered FIV+ warriors.

Cats for 5/18 & 5/19

Thank you to our caretakers, trappers, transporters, volunteers for making a difference!

For Want of a Nail

For want of a nail the shoe was lost.
For want of a shoe the horse was lost.
For want of a horse the rider was lost.
For want of a rider the message was lost.
For want of a message the battle was lost.
For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.

This piece occurred to me as I was lamenting the lack of vets and vet techs = our horseshoe nails in TNR!

Escapes do happen in our TNR room. Luckily due to planning, everything in the room moves, collapses. Cats can be very dexterous in getting out of traps. This is today's escapee, behind towel storage tubs in the corner. She moved to behind some collapsed tables propped against the wall, set trap in front of opening, nudged her in the rear with a pool noodle (doesn't everyone have one on hand?) and she went right into trap. Wish they were all that easy!

Our Thanks To The Ronald R. Bork Fund of DuPage Foundation

There are not a lot of grants for TNR, The Ronald R. Bork Fund has supported Animal Welfare and we are once again the recipient of a grant to use for spay/neuter and vaccinations for the hundreds of cats we help in DuPage County, in the amount of $20,000. DuPage Foundation received a legacy gift from Ronald Bork to support animal welfare projects in DuPage County. From 2019 through 2023, the Foundation has been responsible for annually distributing funding to support projects that benefit animals. We are grateful to receive this grant which will reduce our stress related to having adequate funds on hand to make a difference for the cats of DuPage County!

Do you ever get enough of snoozing kittens?

Last of AmazonSmile

Our last, final, that’s it, folks!, donation from AmazonSmile amounted to a bonus of $763.50! It has made such a difference for Feral Fixers for so many years and we are sad to see it go. We do appreciate that donors are finding other ways to make donations of money and goods – the kitten food is a tremendous help! Thank you for keeping us in your thoughts and being so generous!

PhePhe just doesn't get it that we would never do her harm, she is certain we are out to do horrible things to her. Her littermates are doing great, she will take a little extra work but she will turn around and some day have that fluffy bed on that window ledge where she can watch all the birds and critters, safely from her perch. Honest, PhePhe!