18 wonderful kittens (Latham, MayDay, Mayo, Brass, Mercury, Matilda, Ocean, Zippy, Raleigh, Felicia, Cece, Salty, Kiki, Puka Shell, Arby, Tula, Ruby, Rusty) and 1 sweet adult (Socks) were the stars of our show.  Everyone did a great job of interacting with our guests both in their crates and in the back room during individual meet 'n greet sessions.

Although no one went home directly from the event, 5 adoptions are likely to occur within the next week:

• Cece, our pretty black/smoke medium fur girl, drew lots of attention from several potential adopters.  A nice gal from Bartlett had submitted her application in advance and was approved pending an updated vet visit for her current cat.  She fell in love with Cece and put a hold on her.  Send home is targeted for later this week.
• Ruby was the pick of a young gal from Elk Grove Village.  She was looking for an emotional support kitty to help her through her final semester of high school and possibly accompany her to college in the fall.  Her family was pre-approved for adoption, but her parents were unavailable to attend the event.  Adoption is targeted for later this week pending a visit with the family and resident dog.
• Puka Shell and Kiki won the heart of a terrific couple from Wheaton who had recently lost their beloved cat of 18 years.  They completed an application, which has been approved, and adoption is targeted for later this week.
• Donnie, Brass and Rusty are the top choices of a wonderful family in Wheaton.  They had previously adopted a cat through us in 2015, who is doing very well.  They are looking for a male kitty to be a companion for the dad, as all other human and furry family members are female.  They completed an application, which has been approved, and visits are scheduled for later this week.

Many thanks to PetSmart for hosting this event!

Adoptions outside of events slowed a bit over the holidays but have continued to proceed.  7 kittens (Dolby & Dottie, Ruben, Twiggy, Laces, Cachet, Saki) and 2 adults (Colby, Millie) were adopted from their foster homes since our last event in December.

We closed out 2019 with a total of 286 adoptions of kittens and cats into loving homes.  Many thanks to the fosters and volunteers who made that possible!!

Thanks to the volunteers and fosters who made this event a success - Sara, Steve, Candy, Whitney, Michelle, Diane, Karen L, Laura B, Marge & Murray, Kaitlyn and Amanda.  Everyone did a great job of interacting with our guests and introducing potential adopters to our kittens/cat.  Thanks to Sara, Candy, Laura B, Karen L and Diane for hosting meet 'n greets in the back room and being my partners in adoption counseling.  Thanks also to Diane for transporting Amanda's fosters to/from the event.

Many thanks for all of the other valuable contributions to this event - to Candy for the photography & videography during the event; to Connie, Stephanie and Ted for promoting the event on our Facebook page and web site; to Steve for the professional looking cage cards and the impressive Feral Fixers banner stand; to Debbie and Mike for the on-going updates to the Adoptable Cats & Kittens board and binder; to Sara for helping with the laundry; to Candy for washing the bowls.  Special thanks to Murray for coordinating and funding our lunch run.

Although it is a short month, we have 3 adoption events scheduled in February to help us promote our older kittens and adult cats:

• Saturday, 2/1 - Two Bostons at 34 Danada Square W in Wheaton, from 11am-3pm
• Saturday, 2/15 - Pet Supplies Plus at 720 E. Ogden Ave. in Naperville, from 11am-3pm
• 2/29-3/1 weekend - PetSmart National Adoption Weekend - adoption event on Saturday or Sunday at PetSmart at 63 Rice Lake Square in Wheaton, from 11am-3pm - details will follow

Please mark your calendars!

Thanks,

Sue

New Tomahawk Trap

4 More Cats in December

On 12/19 we sent 4 ferals to ADOPT, 2 males, 2 females, trapped because the kittens were reported to be less than 6 weeks old, they turned out to be 3 months but once we had them, we needed to neuter them – we'll see if they decide to turn friendly.  This brings us to 6 for December, 714 for the year and 11,685 since our beginning.

We're working hard on catching up for the year, paperwork, events, so much!

UPCOMING EVENTS:

• Sunday, 1/19/2020 – Frosty Claws!  Fun, food, feline stuff & info.  Door prizes, silent auctions, raffles, huge crowd of friendly people!

• Sunday, 4/19/2020 – Kitten Shower, noon to 4pm – stay tuned for details.

22 adorable and sweet kittens were the stars of our show - Latham, Laces, MayDay, Mayo, Oyster, Feather, Fluff, Nickel, Marbles, Mariott, Maggie, Maisie, Brodie, Brandy, Casey, Campbell, Cachet, Ginger, Simba, Ruben, Ruby, Rusty.

7 kittens went home directly from the event:

• Casey & Campbell, our highly sought after Russian Blue mix brothers, were adopted by a wonderful family from Frankfort.  They had a Russian Blue mix boy who passed in September at age 20.
• Oyster found a wonderful home with gal and her mom from Berwyn.  She will be their only pet, but mom is home during the day to keep her company.
• Brandy & Brodie were the pick of a nice couple from Roselle.  There was some concern following the event about allergies of an additional family member, but they have fallen in love with the kittens and intend to work through it.
• Nickel & Feather won the heart of a terrific couple from Hanover Park.  Their last kitty had passed in early December and they needed to fill the void.  

Paperwork was completed at the event for 4 additional kittens who have or are about to go to their new homes:

• Ginger & Simba are settling into their new home in Winfield with a wonderful gal who will give them the time they need to adjust.  She picked them up on Sunday.
• Marbles & Mariott were the pick of a great young couple who just purchased a new home in Glendale Heights.  They will be the couple's first fur children.  Send home is pending their move in and Mariott's resolution of a bit of a bug he came down with after the event.

Follow-up visits were scheduled with 3 additional kittens, 2 of whom have been adopted since the event:

• Maisie & Maggie won the heart of a nice dad and his son from Maple Park.  They were referred to us by a prior adopter who is very happy with her kittens.  The kittens went to their new home on Tuesday.
• Cadbury's debonair good looks and bio captivated a gal and her mom from Chicago.  Unfortunately, Cadbury could not make it to the event, so a follow-up visit is scheduled for next Sunday in his foster home.

It was wonderful to see so many of these kittens adopted in pairs.  We hope all of these kittens enjoy their new homes for the holidays!

Many thanks to Pet Supplies Plus for hosting this event, for the adopter gift bags, and the food and supply donations to Feral Fixers.

Adoptions outside of events have also continued at a steady pace.  7 kittens (Mario & Marky, Raven, CalliLulu, Roscoe, Fedora, Captain) were adopted from their foster homes in the three weeks since our last event.  There are also some additional visits lined up for approved adopters later this week.

Many thanks to the volunteers and fosters who made this event a success - Sara, Steve, Candy, Diane, Karen L, Erika, Dina, Judy & Vince, Marlene, Lili and Amanda.  It was a very busy day and everyone at the event did a great job of interacting with our guests and helping with the meetings of potential adopters and kittens.  Thanks to Sara for authoring all of the adoption paperwork and to Candy and Sara for being my partners in adoption counseling.  Couldn't have done it without all of you!  Thanks also to Diane for transporting Amanda's fosters to/from the event.

Many thanks for all of the other valuable contributions to this event - to Candy for the photography & videography during the event; to Connie, Stephanie and Ted for promoting the event on our Facebook page and web site; to Steve for the professional looking cage cards and the impressive new Feral Fixers banner stand; to Debbie and Mike for the on-going updates to the Adoptable Cats & Kittens board and binder; to Sara for helping with the laundry; to Candy for washing the bowls; to Candy for coordinating our lunch run.

We are targeting Saturday, 1/11, or Sunday, 1/12, for our first event in the new year, likely at the Wheaton PetSmart.  Stay tuned for details.  During the holidays, adoptions will be handled from our foster homes.

Have a wonderful holiday and see you in the New Year!

Sue

Completely Unpredictable Weather

Our fosters that house moms and babies do not become active until about April and those are few and far between. Please think about becoming a mom & babies foster or talk to your friends and family.

So Many Adoptables

We still have a large number of kittens (who are rapidly becoming adolescents) available for adoption. 40 cats are posted on our Petfinder and 19 of those are black and black & white. It should be that a cat is a cat is a cat with each being judged on their personality and not their coat color. We hope that having so many of the same color is not holding back adoptions. We haven't wanted to count how many of what colors were adopted last year, but we did have an overwhelming number of black and b&w kittens.  As mentioned above, the 2020 kittens may be coming sooner than we would like and the fosters are already booked. Where will they go instead? Please share our adoptables with family and friends and as always, please consider fostering for us! There will be 16 black and b&w cats at our Saturday Adoption Event – come on by!!!

Below are some of the black and black & white cats and kittens that will be at our Adoption event on Saturday.

Imagine If There Really Were More Homes?

HB 1391 proposes that housing discrimination against people whose families include dogs, cats and other animal companions be banned in New Hampshire – the first state to consider such legislation. The precedent-setting bill by Representative Ellen Read addresses one of the most pervasive challenges faced by renters whose family includes an animal: lack of pet-friendly housing.

In addition to protecting families, the law also protects landlords, with reasonable restrictions and a pet deposit. A study of landlords who allow companion animals shows that concerns about damage are often exaggerated and easily addressed, as they are in the bill. Studies also show that such policies are likewise popular with tenants who do not have animals or don’t necessarily want one of their own. As a result, landlords will have happier tenants, longer-term tenants, and fewer vacancies.

More information about this ground-breaking legislation from the No Kill Advocacy Center can be found here.

2 Cats So Far

On 1/2/20 we sent 2 friendlies to ADOPT, one male, one female, they weren't big enough for a 2019 trip. That makes 2 for January and 2 for the year and 11,687 since we started in 2007!

Free Food

Rescue Pack Chicago (formerly Rescue Bank) distributed a value of over $4 million in food and supplies to local animal welfare organizations in 2019!  One of the ways to help them obtain those supplies is to visit The Animal Rescue Site and click to donate. "Click here to Give – It's Free" is as simple as that.  Corporate sponsors advertise on the website and in exchange donate food.  The Rescue Site also has an online store which donates a portion of the products sold.  It should be noted that The Animal Rescue Site is NOT a non-profit organization and does not claim to be one. However, it has helped feed animals in need by raising funds for millions of pounds of much-needed food. The donated funds are then distributed by GreaterGood.org and Rescue Pack Chicago is one of the recipients of donations.  The local groups pay for shipping costs at a rate of 12cents per pound.  That means that a skid of 1,000lbs of food may cost an organization $120 – many times that is less than a tenth of what it would cost off the shelf with much less handling and damaged product in obtaining.  Rescue Pack does a great job on Distribution Day – coordinating 60 to 100 groups with up to two vehicles each, benefitting so many so that funds normally spent on food can be allocated differently.  This helps us help so many ferals and adoptables while using those funds towards surgeries!  A legitimate program and while a daily email and a few keystrokes every day may seem a very strange way to donate, you can make a difference for the animals of Chicagoland! 

New Spay/Neuter Clinic in Joliet

SNIP Society Clinic opened in Joliet in September of this year.  Their goal is to provide low-cost spay/neuter for the dogs and cats of the Joliet area.  Currently they are open for services on Wednesdays and Thursdays, visit their website for more information.  We get many calls for help in the Joliet area, we hope that SNIP Society will assist in reducing the number of cats that end up outside as strays and ferals, further improving the lives of cats all over the Chicago suburbs!

New Tomahawk Trap

Our friends at Tomahawk are always experimenting with new ideas.

Recent Legislation And How It Affects Feral Fixers

There are three new bills signed by the Governor this year that affects Feral Fixers.

The first is Public Act 101-0210, requiring alarm systems, sprinkler systems and staffing of kennels while dogs or cats are on the premises, taking effect January 1, 2020.  Our first estimate on a sprinkler system for the building we are looking at is $40,000.

The second is Public Act 101-0295, which includes many definitions, including "shelter", the 'Return' in TNR and fine structures. Took affect 8/9/19.

The third is Public Act 101-0299, requires rabies vaccination for all cats four months of age or older that are companion animals.  Takes affect 1/1/20.  All feral cats must be vaccinated at sterilization.  This affects Feral Fixers as we often neuter at 2.5lbs, which is usually under 3 months, so will impact the feral kittens that we trap that are not yet 4 months, but not expected to become tame.  We will be trying to figure how to address this issue.

Many changes, most just common sense, which shows that our legislation is becoming more reflective of current needs.

Changes To Spay/Neuter Trip Schedule

Due to veterinary availability, we may be switching from almost every Thursday to Thursdays and Mondays and not every week.  PLEASE contact Feral Fixers to be sure when we are making a trip in, so that cats do not have to remain in traps longer than necessary AND you may be able to trap for a longer number of days = greater success in getting all of the cats in your colony!  This may result in larger numbers trapped along with increased down time in between trips so that we are all not as exhausted by the end of the year!  We're still working on this, stay posted!

Frosty Claws

Our 2020 Frosty Claws Fundraiser is on Sunday, January 19^th from 12 noon to 4pm.  Early registration at $10 cut-off is 1/14/20 and $15 on the day of the event.  We will have a Silent Auction, raffles, our boutique, food, all to support Feral Fixers for the coming year and more.  This event is very popular so be prepared for a crowd of cat-friendly people!  If you wish to donate items to our raffles and auctions, please contact us by 1/5/20 so that we can fit them in.  Items should be brand-new, collectable – something you would give to a close friend or family member!  Perfect opportunity for re-gifting and gift cards you won't use!  Please contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 630-881-3977.  We have a huge variety of items at this event due to the generosity of our donors!  Hope to see you there!!!

Holidays Are Here!

Thank you to all of our donors, caretakers, fellow Rescue partners!  Everyone who helps us every day in so many ways!  We could not do this without your impact and with your help 2020 is going to be a great year!