It always seems that we are racing to finish something at Feral Fixers. Whether its to get enough cats for the slots that we have available, finish up a colony, get all the data entered, prepare for an event, get the newsletter out – there’s always something! And, just like everyone else, not enough time to do everything!

We will be shutting down feral trapping after the 12th of December. It gets wayyy too cold for the females with their shaved bellies to go back outside. Even with shelters stuffed with straw or heating pads that some caretakers have provided, the to and from the food gets very chilly with a bare tummy. We may be able to transport some friendlies, but keep in mind that we have been going full tilt all year long and we need some down time to address our own lives, which get extremely neglected with the pressure to neuter every cat we can, always working toward a future where all cats are wanted and appreciated indoors!

So, if we did not get to your ferals, we are extremely apologetic, but, as you can see from our numbers this year, we weren’t just sitting around. Please contact us in February and keep calling every week until we can get your cats in. It is still easier to receive calls than to make them, time works that way.

One litter box for 27 cats

Many shelters do not have the resources to assist in hoarder situations. We help when we can. One of our volunteers brought a situation to us that, believe it or not, was a “good” hoarder situation. The cats are relatively social, they were not sick, and the conditions are not the worst I’ve seen, but I’ve seen really bad hoarder situations. As of this week we will have neutered 22 cats from there and we have about 5 more to go. The volunteers working on this have posted pictures on a Feral Fixers Facebook Fan Page and they are working hard to find homes for these cats. There is a time limit – the cats can only stay where they are for a limited time. Another race to the finish line!

Where do the injured cats go?

>Most injured outside cats have to be trapped, whether they are friendly or not, they are in pain and it makes them much more fearful. So Feral Fixers gets the calls about the cat with the abscess on its jaw, the cat that is walking on three legs, the cat that looks so sick and starving. A lot of what we do is common sense good care, but we also have PAWS, Glen Ellyn Animal Hospital, Wheaton Animal Hospital and Carriage Animal Hospital to rely on. We currently have a cat at the vet that had been walking on three legs for the last two weeks, terrible abscess, the vet wants to hold him overnight to make sure she got all the infection out and he is doing better before releasing him. Although he is also FIV positive, he is a wonderful cat that anyone would be lucky to bring into their home and hopefully someone who already has an FIV positive cat would be interested.

Adopt one, or even two.

One of the reasons we encounter so many friendlies and injured cats and so many kittens is the economy. People just don’t have the money to care for their animals in the responsible way they should. We are so grateful for the generosity of the people who have donated to us, enabling us to help the cats that fall thru the cracks.

>Now is the time to adopt a cat, or even two. Yes, it’s a huge commitment, but although we are neutering everything we can get our hands on, there is still a backlog of cats sitting in shelters, sitting in foster homes while waiting for Petfinder to work its magic. It has been said that “we cannot adopt our way out of this”, but it certainly is one important part of reducing cat overpopulation and therefore euthanasia. People are spending more time at home these days, cats are great companions, they make a home feel so much better and they make us happier, better adjusted people at the same time.

So, instead of spending money on possessions this holiday season, consider saving a life and making your own better at the same time!

Events – Past and Future

Thank you to everyone who attended the Feral Fixers Bazaar – it went very well and everyone had a great time! The home party consultants are very willing to do this again next year and it looks like we will make it an annual event.

We are making plans for our Frosty Claws event in January; we will keep you updated as they are finalized!

Our next Sweet Tomatoes Fun-raiser – Feast for Feral Fixers will be on Tuesday, December 14th at the Lombard Sweet Tomatoes located at 2820 Highland Avenue in Lombard (630-932-5009). Please print and bring our flyer with you between 5PM and 8 PM and we will receive not just 15% but 20% of your bill as a donation to Feral Fixers!!! This is a special promotion with a higher percentage because we participated during the month of October! Check out the menu at Sweet Tomatoes’ website so that you can plan your dining experience! While we will not have special tables reserved for Feral Fixers’ friends, we hope to see you there and get a chance to say hello. We hope that this will be an easy, healthy dinner while you are out finishing up your holiday errands!

Flyers cannot be passed out at the door, so don’t forget to print yours and forward them on to friends! No extra work involved, just come have a great time and great food!

As always, a huge thank you to so many people who help us in so many ways and a heartfelt wish for a Great Holiday Season!!!

(All of the picture thumbnails in this post are from the Hoarder situation mentioned in it. Click on any of the thumbnails to see a full-size version of the picture.)