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 #4 - January, 2009

 

You're invited!!

January 11th, 2009, is the date of our first annual
FROSTY CLAWS fundraiser.

This event will be held from noon to 4:00pm at the Lombard Lagoon
located at Grace St & Marcus Drive, in Lombard

Come and celebrate our first year anniversary with us!
We'll have hot drinks, pastries, a silent auction, a boutique, cat-themed music, a visit from "Mr. October" (see story, later on in this newsletter) and, of course, a cat-friendly crowd.

Admission: Donation of cat food or $5 at the door.

Bring a friend!!

Click here to find Lombard Lagoon on MapQuest

 

 

Feral health care

Some of this is from reliable sources, some of this is my opinion and experience.  Not a lot is known about how to go about health care for ferals.  The inability to touch them limits just how much we can do for them.  In fact, the way to know just how sick a feral is can be if it lets you pick it up.  That either means that they have given up and are asking you for help, or they know that their end is near and are asking you for help in ending their suffering.

Before getting to that point, there are preventive measures you can take:

Of course, spay and neuter, vaccinate, flea treat and de-worm.  An unhealthy colony will improve dramatically once it is neutered.  And, while there are differing opinions on how long vaccinations last, the outdoors are beyond our control and very different from deciding not to vaccinate our indoor cats, so the ferals should get starter vaccinations at the very least...

Read more about what our President, Tammy McAuley, has to say about keeping our feral friends healthy by visiting our website.

 

Feral Fixers hosts their first TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return) Workshop

   
 
 

It's Easy!!

On December 7th, 2008, Feral Fixers hosted their first TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return) workshop in Bensenville.  Tammy McAuley, Feral Fixers President, hosted the workshop and did the demonstrations.  In this picture, she is demonstrating the differences between different kinds of traps...

To view more pictures from the workshop, 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).

 

Mr. October!

 
  Yes, other groups may have been around longer than us and yes, some groups may have spay/neutered more cats than Feral Fixers has, but we have Mr. October!  Kurt Meyer, a member of the Feral Fixers Board of Directors, was recently honored to appear in the 2009 Hot Men of Compassion calendar put out by the Alliance for Humane Action. Here is what Marilyn Estes and La Vonne Porter (who nominated Kurt for the honor) had to say about him:

"Kurt spends what little free time he has from a very demanding full time job rescuing feral and friendly cats/kittens in and around the Chicago suburbs. He transports animals to the PAWS Lurie Family Spay/Neuter Clinic most Sundays and then stays and helps with the spay/neuter clinic. Kurt also fosters cats/kittens that turn out not to be feral and who need a temporary home, until he can work with one of several groups to get them adopted - often times helping with the adoptions as well.

Private citizens call upon Kurt, as well as rescue groups and city service officers, for help with doing TNR (trap-neuter-return). Kurt always has a backlog of calls to return and animals to help; he is more than willing to help anyone who needs it. Kurt is a great asset to the groups and individuals who work toward a time when there are no feral or friendly cats and kittens that need rescuing. We've known Kurt for 10 years and he has been an animal advocate for all of those years. It's hard to say how many animals have benefited from Kurt being involved, but we would have to say it is a pretty big number!"

We at Feral Fixers can only agree. Kurt is a wonderful person and a tremendous asset and we are proud and happy to have him associated with Feral Fixers.

During our Frosty Claws Fundraiser, Kurt will personally autograph this calendar and it will be available to the highest bidder for it in our Silent Auction.  So, come to Frosty Claws for a chance to win this calendar and have your picture taken with "Mr. October"!

 

  How many cats?

Feral Fixers was founded and incorporated in late September, 2007.  In our first fiscal year (through September, 2008) Feral Fixers had 476 cats spay/neutered.  So far in our second fiscal year, Feral Fixers has had 137 more cats spay/neutered.

Feral Fixers is taking a short break from doing spay-neuters for the months of December and January but we'll be back hard at it come February!

 

 

Feral Fixers participates in the Bensenville Christmas Tree program

The city of Bensenville has a program each year where individuals and organizations can decorate Christmas trees.  These trees are then displayed in the Bensenville city park located at the corner of Green and Center streets.  This is the same location where Bensenville has it's Music in the Park shows each summer.  Feral Fixers had a booth at the Park for several of the shows this past summer and it was great - talking with people about Feral cats and spreading the word and listening to some fine music at the same time!

 
 
 

A full-on view of the Feral Fixers Christmas Tree.

 
 
 

A close-up of some of the ornaments that adorned our tree.

 
 
 

And finally, what's a Christmas tree without a star on top?

 
 
 

Feral Fixers wants to thank volunteers Mary Rosa and Christina Martinez for decorating this tree for Feral Fixers.  Thank you Mary and Christina!

 

Shop for Feral Fixers!
 

Want to purchase something purr-fect for your cat-lover friends and help out Feral Fixers at the same time?  Just visit our Café Press store and Buy Something! In addition to the Sweatshirt 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 Sweatshirt 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, 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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