The Feral Blog

Hear That Mating Call? + Adoption, Frosty Claws & TNR News

Written by: Tammy McAuley

How Cats Sound When in Heat

We’ve been getting a lot of calls about friendly cats, meowing at people’s doors. One of our trappers had the inspiration to ask what the meows sounded like – did sound like it was saying “hello!” And, yep, just like that. Here is a sample of what a cat in heat sounds like. Repetitive, desperate!

Adoption Events

We have scheduled two January 2026 adoption events. See our adoptable cats by clicking on the Want to Adopt? link at the top of our website. Many fosters may be on hand to give you the inside scoop on their fosters. Individual meetups can be arranged if you cannot come to the events. 

  • Sunday, January 11th, 1 - 4pm, Feral Fixers Adoption Event, 330 Eisenhower Ln N, Lombard, IL.
  • Saturday, January 24th, 11 – 3pm. 330 Eisenhower Ln N, Lombard, IL.

Frosty Claws January 18th! Bring Your Coins!

Sunday, January 18th 12 – 4pm at VFW Post 2801, 39 E St Charles Rd, Villa Park, IL. $20 at the door. Bring your jars of coins to donate – we have a coin sorter on hand. Lots of food, boutique, cat people, fundraisers! We have so much donated stuff and we’re putting it together for our Silent Auction or raffles!! Hope to see you there!

Silent Auction Quilty

Silent Auction Framed Cats Quilt - This really stands out!

TNR Workshop

Sunday, January 25th, 12 noon to 2pm at Feral Fixers 330 Eisenhower Ln N, Lombard, IL Learn how to trap and care for ferals. Consider becoming a Feral Fixers trapper and help us to reduce the number of kittens in 2026! Make a difference for your neighborhood, your town, DuPage County! Be prepared for February when the cats kick into high gear productivity!

What Is a Nonprofit?

We’re not here to make a profit, we are here to correct a situation as best we can. We appreciate your help in enabling us to do so!

“A nonprofit is a mission-driven organization that exists for public benefit (like charity, education, or social good) rather than to generate profit for owners or shareholders, meaning any surplus revenue must be reinvested into its cause, not distributed. They often receive tax-exempt status from the IRS, allowing donors to deduct contributions, and include diverse entities like charities, hospitals, foundations, museums, and universities.” (From Google AI)

Starting Off the New Year!

We still are not trapping again until the end of February or beginning of March, but we had 6 kittens that were not big enough for nor did we have surgery slots for spay/neuter by the end of the year.

  • 01/08/26 – DCAS – 6 friendlies, 5 males, 1 female. 

Total: January 6, year-to-date 6, since 2007 16,551!

As Many As Possible As Soon As Possible

Happy Holidays from Feral Fixers!

Written by: Tammy McAuley

Happy Holidays!

Feral Fixers wishes you all a very good Holiday! No matter how you celebrate, we hope this is a positive time of year for you and that 2026 will hold the best of all possibilities for you and yours!

Cats Meow Twice as Much at Men

A study that filmed the interaction between cats and their people showed that cats were twice as likely to vocalize with their male owners than with their female owners. And it wasn't affected by the cat's age, sex, or breed.

Black Cat Giving Tuesday

There is still time to donate to our Black Cat Giving Tuesday fundraiser! We have achieved over $10,000 in donations but we can always go over our goal! The deadline is midnight 12/31/25, so there is still time to donate. Ensure that we can start right in with spay/neuter in March when weather conditions allow us to begin TNR. Continue to make a difference in the lives of the cats of DuPage!

 

Adoption Events

We have one more Adoption Event for 2025! We have scheduled two more events in January 2026, wouldn’t it be wonderful if all of our cats were adopted before then? If you would like to get pre-approved for same-day adoption, please email us (by noon Friday, December 26) at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. See our adoptable cats by clicking on the Want to Adopt? link at the top of our website. Many fosters may be on hand to give you the inside scoop on their fosters. Individual meetups can be arranged if you cannot come to the events.

  • Saturday, 12/27, 11am - 3pm, Feral Fixers Adoption Event at PetSmart in Finley Square Shopping Center (1550 Butterfield Rd, Downers Grove, IL).
  • Sunday, January 11th, 1 - 4pm, Feral Fixers Adoption Event, 330 Eisenhower Ln N, Lombard, IL.
  • Saturday, January 24th, 11 – 3pm, Feral Fixers Adoption Event, 330 Eisenhower Ln N, Lombard, IL.
Griswold

 

Griswold

 

Griswold

Griswold is doing well being back outside. These pics are from 12/19 when the temperature was 10 degrees!

Frosty Claws January 18th! Another Reminder!

Sunday, January 18th 12 – 4pm at VFW Post 2801,39 E St. Charles Rd, Villa Park, IL. Please register in advance by 1/10/26 for $15 or $20 at the door. Lots of food, boutique, cat people, fundraisers! If you would like to donate to our Silent Auction or raffles, please contact us This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 630-881-3977. This will be our 16th Frosty Claws! Hope to see you there!

As Many As Possible As Soon As Possible

Black Cat Countdown, Adoptions, Frosty Claws & The Yule Cat

Written by: Tammy McAuley

Black Cat Giving Tuesday

Thank you for the pictures and special messages that you have sent with your donation to our Black Cat Giving Tuesday fundraiser! Today we are over 90% of the way to our goal but the deadline is midnight 12/31/25, so there is still time to donate. These funds make sure that we can start right in with spay/neuter in March when weather conditions allow us to begin TNR without worrying about doing harm when they are released after surgery and vaccination. This will make a difference in the lives of the cats of DuPage!

Last Adoption Event For 2025!

One more Adoption Event for 2025! We have takin in dozens and dozens of cats and kittens this year! Please check out our list of adoptables and give them a permanent home!

  • Saturday, 12/27, 11am - 3pm at PetSmart in Finley Square Shopping Center (1550 Butterfield Rd, Downers Grove, IL). Fosters may be on hand to give you the inside scoop on their fosters. If you would like to get pre-approved for same-day adoption, please email us (by noon Friday, December 26) at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. You can see all of our adoptable cats by clicking on the Want to Adopt? link at the top of our website. Individual meetups can be arranged if you cannot come to this event.
Mayors Award
These are 5 kittens from the same litter that were neutered on 12/11. Soon to be posted for adoption!

Frosty Claws January 18th!

Sunday, January 18th 12 – 4pm at VFW Post 2801,39 E St. Charles Rd, Villa Park. Please register in advance by 1/10/26 for $15 or $20 at the door. Lots of food, boutique, cat people, fundraisers! If you would like to donate to our Silent Auction or raffles, please contact us This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 630-881-3977. This will be our 16th Frosty Claws! Hope to see you there!

The Yule Cat

The Yule cat wanders the Icelandic countryside, looking for children not wearing their recent Christmas clothing gifts and eating them as punishment. Sounds like an extreme way to emphasize appreciation for gifts!

Final December Spay/Neuter Trips

  • 12/11– DCAS – 8 friendlies, 4 males, 4 females. 
    12/18 – DCAS – 13 friendlies, 8 males, 5 females.

Total: December 35, year-to-date 811, since 2007 16,545!

As Many As Possible As Soon As Possible

From The President

It's 2025!

Written by: Tammy McAuley

2025 – Already Here!

2024 has been a very long year, hasn’t it? Yet it seems to have been over in the blink of an eye!

The volunteers, donors, caretakers, fosters, all playing a part in Feral Fixers accomplishing 854 spay/neuters of feral and stray cats and kittens. We have adopted approximately 342 cats and kittens to wonderful homes with the help of our adoption, foster and animal care volunteers and there are two days left in the year as I write this. We have assisted many sick and injured cats. We’ve done so much that is positive and will have long-lasting effects for both cats and humans.

We have to mention the challenges of the year – spay/neuter clinics shut down for reconstruction or permanently, veterinarians leaving the work force, all reducing the number of available surgery slots we could obtain. Pet owners faced housing and financial issues, resulting in more cats being outside and intact. Every shelter is full – we keep saying that and it does not improve.

Judging by the number of phone calls we have received and the locations we just could not get to, 2025 may be an even busier year. We resume trapping when the overnight temperatures are above 30 degrees consistently – that date is anyone’s guess in Chicagoland these days. We have to take the situations on a case- by-case basis. More people are bringing cats into their homes and arranging s/n themselves and we applaud them!

Through it all, our donors have helped so much. While fundraising takes time and there has not been near enough of that this year, we have been able to keep the lights on, the cats fed, the litter boxes scooped and spay/neuter to the capacity of the surgeries available to us.

We are hoping that increased capacity for surgery will increase our yearly s/n numbers in 2025 – the only way we are going to get ahead. We are hoping that more people will be able to volunteer, foster and adopt!

Even though this is hard work, we have to remember the impact we have had, how many cats would be roaming the streets, producing more and more, the suffering that has been alleviated, feline and human alike! We have much more work to do but what a difference has been made so far!

You - donors, volunteers, caretakers, are all responsible for the huge difference Feral Fixers has achieved in the last 17 years! Remember –

As Many As Possible

As Soon As Possible

It's 2024, finally...

Written by: Tammy McAuley

2023 – What A Year

Together, volunteers, donors, caretakers, everyone involved with Feral Fixers, we have accomplished 926 spay/neuters of feral and stray cats and kittens. With the help of our dedicated adoption and foster and animal care volunteers, we have found homes for 360 cats and kittens. In just this year, you can see the impact as we reduced the volume of cats outdoors, we reduced the overpopulation crisis from every direction, helping felines and humans alike.

The challenges have been immense. 

Kitten numbers have increased dramatically –societal changes may be the biggest impact: lack of vet access, money, movement of our population – combining households, isolation and hoarding, etc. People are actually paying more attention to the cats outside and are discovering the pregnant cat, the litter of kittens much more readily than in the past which results in overall increased volume that we are contacted about. Every shelter is full. Everyone is doing their best to save every cat they can. Adults and kittens are becoming friendly at an increased pace. Years ago, a feral was a feral was a feral. Not anymore. Kittens sometimes are friendly from the time they are trapped, adults will have a complete turnaround to being friendly. National organizations are seeing this and the only advice they can offer is that even if a cat is friendly, put it back outside – there just aren’t enough homes.

Volunteers. The data can be looked at in many different ways, but finding information that DuPage County ranked 2nd in 102 Illinois Counties of charities per square mile illustrates why it is so difficult finding and maintaining volunteers. No one seems to have as much time as we used to. There are so many choices of where to spend that valuable volunteer time. Our lives can change in an instant and our personal responsibilities must take priority. Feral Fixers has wonderful volunteers, and we treasure them every day. We need more, the volunteer staff is not a constant and can change quickly. From trapping to transport, fostering and shifts of cat care at the building, cleaning – oh my, the cleaning! We do need volunteers who can snuggle kittens just as much as we need those who can sweep floors and do laundry. Social people who can interact with adopters on adoption days, help with events, host events! Everyone has their own strengths and abilities, please share them with us!

Need everywhere. We can average five calls a day for help.

*Discovered kittens under the shed, come help. *My mother let a pregnant cat into her house, come trap and take the kittens. *My cat has lost its mind and is attacking me, help. *I have 15 cats in and around my house (usually results in 60+ cats). *I live outside your area, but I can bring the cats to you. *Been feeding a cat for 2 years, not neutered, now he’s injured from fighting, come help. On social media, you may often see “call Feral Fixers, they will help you” and we do help so many!

With all these challenges we must remember the impact we have had, can you imagine how many cats would be roaming the streets, producing more and more, the suffering we have alleviated, feline and human alike! We have much more work to do but what a difference has been accomplished! 

You - donors, volunteers, caretakers, are all responsible for the huge difference Feral Fixers has achieved in the last 16+ years!

With Your Help

Written by: Tammy McAuley

731 spay/neuters of cats and kittens. We brought in +/- 320 friendly cats & kittens. Some of these were previously neutered adults who decided to become friendly after being neutered. There have been approximately 300 adoptions, but still have 33 officially posted for adoption and many more in foster homes. We have helped many cats with injuries and conditions from simple upper respiratory to congenital defects the cats were born with. We have provided food for caretakers. Removed feral cats from inside homes when there was no other way to get them out. Seen the change in cats who were completely feral transitioning into loving lap cats. Relocated cats that could no longer stay where they were due to overpopulation or change of circumstances. You have helped us do so much! So much goes on behind the scenes beyond our reports of spay/neuter trips and you are all part of caring for the stray and feral cats of DuPage County!

What Can We Expect In 2023?

We continue to face the unknown. Who could have expected that across the nation, we are short 15,000 veterinarians? Who could have expected that our nation could be short millions of spay/neuter surgeries? So many different factors are affecting daily lives, it will be interesting to see the impact on cats outdoors, how many kittens will be born to these unneutered females still roaming that no one was able to get to. Prices have gone up for cat food, cat litter, gasoline to take them to appointments & adoptions, and on and on. What can we do? We can continue to get as many spay/neuter appointments as we possibly can and to FILL those appointments, making caretakers aware that they must contact us as soon as a cat is consistent in attendance. It is the ONLY way to lower costs in the future. Once those kittens arrive, we will care for them, using resources for current day expenses, not for preventing even greater expenditures in the future – that is unsustainable and returns us to the past when feral cats were euthanized regularly.

Trapping will resume around the end of March, beginning of April. Keep an eye out for ferals in your area, talk to your neighbors, help us help you to care for those cats.

What Can You Do?

The Amazon Smile donation in November, which covered purchases made between July 1, 2022, and September 30, 2022, came to $606.70. That means that our donors spent $121,340 in that time period and .5% was donated by Amazon Smile – Yay! Use AmazonSmile and designate Feral Fixers – could not be an easier way to raise funds!

Visit our wish lists at Amazon & Chewy – we always need food; canned food in particular goes fast when you are supporting so MANY kittens! Gift cards allow us to purchase what our greatest need at the time is – paper towels, bleach, laundry detergent, litter boxes – amazing the variety of things we purchase to keep going! 

Spread our information to coworkers, family, social media – we have donors across the country! Cats have a ripple effect, they don’t stay in one place and affect wider resources than those on their street, in their town, in their county – even in their state! New people are volunteering with us due to sharing information, but we need more volunteers, many more. Trappers, transporters, cleaners in the building, animal care in the building, fosters, event volunteers, the list goes on. You tell us what you want to do to help, and we try to make that fit for both of our benefits!

Frosty Claws in 2023 

We seem to be returning to some degree of normalcy. As a result, we will be holding our 2023 Frosty Claws on Sunday, January 15th from 12 noon to 4pm at the Villa Park VFW. We may have huge attendance that day because of skipping years, please be patient. This is an event for our caretakers, adopters, donors, to talk about cats and network with some fundraising and food. We are about to start assembling our Silent Auction and door prize items – we may not have as much “stuff” as in previous years – we will post items as they are created, as soon as we have a chance. We look forward to seeing everyone who can attend!