Practicing and promoting Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) in DuPage County, Illinois

 
  We're a 501c3 not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting and practicing Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) in DuPage County, Illinois. We believe that TNR is the only effective, humane and long-term solution to the problem of cat overpopulation.  

The Feral Fixers e-Newsletter - Issue #2 - November, 2008

Save the date!!

January 11th, 2009, is the date of our first annual FROSTY CLAWS fundraiser.  We'll have more to announce about this event soon, but mark it on your calendars!


Feral Fixers celebrates the 2008 National Feral Cat Day!

   
 
 

Clicker, Clara, Wil Shrimpy, D P Coal, D P Oreon, D P Justine, D P ACDC, D P Fog, Bat Kid, Bat Kiss, L G Blackie, Fair View, Fair Way, Fair Field, Fair Lady, Fair Haven, Fair Ness, Fair Wood, Swiftly, Liz's Meow, Liz's OJ, Liz's Sweetie, Liz's O B 1, Bonnie's Little, A Precious, A Presto, Med Boy, Medster, Cross Post, Cross Tina, Cross Baby and Cross Current

The above are the 32 cats that traveled to the PAWS Lurie Family Spay Neuter Clinic on October 16th in celebration of  National Feral Cat Day.  While they traveled from my garage on that day, in the previous two days they came from:  Keeneyville, Darien, DesPlaines, Batavia, WillowSprings, Downers Grove, Lombard, Naperville, Elgin, Addison, Medinah and Wheaton...

Having a bunch of traps together like this is sure a conversation starter!  The three people in the background of the picture are not Feral Fixer volunteers, but rather pet owners waiting to drop off their pets from PAWS.  Every one of them wanted to know why the cats were in traps and not carriers, what is TNR, etc.  It was a great 'education opportunity' and Tammy and I took full advantage of it!

For the rest of the story of how Feral Fixers celebrated this year's National Feral Cat Day, and to view more pictures from the event, check out our website.

 

  Want to help?

Interested in helping Feral Fixers?  We are looking for a 'few good volunteers'!  Specifically, we're looking for someone to help us transport cats to and from PAWS (the Spay/Neuter clinic we use) in Chicago.  We need transport both in the morning and the afternoon.  If you're interested in helping, call us at (630) 881-FXRS (3977).

 

5% Days!
 
  Want to help out Feral Fixers while shopping for your groceries?  Just click on the "Shop & Share" button to download these coupons which can be used on November 17, 18 and 19 at your local Jewel food store.  Just sign and turn these in when you checkout and 5% of your purchase will be donated to Feral Fixers.  And don't forget to print out extras to share with your family and friends - Thank you!  

  Over 800 cats!

To date, Feral Fixers has had over 800 Feral cats spay/neutered.  Assuming that half of these are female and assuming that each female would have had two litters of four kittens each (a conservative estimate), this means that there have been THREE THOUSAND less kittens born because of our efforts.  Fewer unwanted kittens and fewer cats being euthanized because of no shelter space - we ARE making a difference!

 

Why TNR?

"TNR has many advantages. It immediately stabilizes the size of the colony by eliminating new litters. The nuisance behavior often associated with feral cats is dramatically reduced, including the yowling and fighting that come with mating activity and the odor of unneutered males spraying to mark their territory. The returned colony also guards its territory, preventing unneutered cats from moving in and beginning the cycle of overpopulation and problem behavior anew. Particularly in urban areas, the cats continue to provide natural rodent control.  

Another significant advantage to TNR is that, when practiced on a large scale, it lessens the number of kittens and cats flowing into local shelters.  This results in lower euthanasia rates and the increased adoption of cats already in the shelters.  For example, in San Francisco, after TNR had been widely implemented for six years, euthanasia rates for all cats, feral and domestic, declined by 71 percent.  San Diego, after several years of TNR, also experienced substantially lower euthanasia rates."

(From the Neighborhood Cats website - a GREAT source of information about Feral cats and how to deal with them.)


Shop for Feral Fixers!
 

Want to be fashionable and help out Feral Fixers at the same time? Just visit our CafePress store and Buy Something! In addition to the Messenger Bag, shown to the right, we have T-shirts, Hoodies, Coffee Mugs, Pet food bowls, etc. A portion of each sale goes to help us in our TNR efforts. To visit the store, just click on the Messenger Bag or visit our website and click on the 'Buy Something' button at the top - Thank you!

 

  Visit us on the Web!

Visit our website at www.feralfixers.org.  There you can donate to us (via PayPal or Credit card), visit our store, read the latest news, view our "Picture/Video of the day" and learn more about Feral cats.  If this newsletter has been forwarded to you, you can also sign up to be on our mailing list so you don't miss a thing!

 

  What is TNR (Trap / Neuter / Return)? TNR is a full management plan in which stray and feral cats already living outdoors in cities, towns, and rural areas are humanely trapped, evaluated, vaccinated, and sterilized by veterinarians. Adoptable cats and kittens are transferred to sheltering organizations to be adopted into good homes. Healthy adult cats unsocialized to humans are returned to their familiar habitat under the lifelong care of their original caretakers.  

To unsubscribe from this newsletter, click here: Feral Fixers, NFP, is a certified 501c3 corporation - EIN Number 13-4364615
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