Also on September 5th, we sent 17 ferals to DCAS of which 10 were males and 7 were females.  Unfortunately, one male was in much worse shape than we knew and was euthanized, one of the females was already spayed.  We knew one female had an injured tail and they were able to amputate with great results.  We had gotten a call about a kitten that had been thrown in a dumpster at an apartment complex, luckily she was fished out and while there do not seem to be any injuries, it has affected her to the extent that we will be relocating her – though young, she will never be able to trust again and she certainly can’t go back to that complex!

Three weeks ago we received a plea about a friendly cat that was pregnant.  We got her, she definitely was large around the middle and got her into a foster.  And waited.  And waited.  Some times females blow up to appear about to deliver when they are only 3 weeks along!  On Saturday, when she still had not delivered, she was taken to the foster’s vet to be checked and we were informed that she actually had an incredible case of pyometra – basically an infected uterus. 

That vet was unable to do the surgery that day so she was quickly transported her to Glen Ellyn Animal Hospital who said that if she had not had the spay immediately, her uterus could have burst.  She stayed the night and is now back at the foster, recuperating.

With these trips, we’ve done 24 for September, 491 for the year and 11,462 since our start in 2007.

Harley’s Story

We try to stay away from hoarding situations but in August we did help someone with a large number of kittens in their home.  One of the kittens was without a rear left foot - when cutting the umbilical cord, new moms can mistakenly bite off the end of a tail or even a foot.  This is what happened to Harley but at the time of spay, she was totally healed and getting around just fine, no worries.  We let her go back to the home, in hopes that this good faith would facilitate future neutering of the other cats.  Fast forward a month and something has happened to the stump, infected and the bone is poking thru.  It is very difficult to heal cat legs, the only answer in this case was to amputate.  Harley tolerated the surgery very well, the staff at GEAH just wanted to hold her all the time!  She is now recovering and healing very well, not enjoying that cone tho!  After full recovery, we will be finding her a new home.

So many stories!  Our thanks to everyone who helps us to care for the cats – however they come to us and no matter what condition!

(Click on any of the picture thumbnails to see a full-size picture)

With these cats we neutered an additional 54 in August, bringing the August total to 103, year total is now 467 and 11,438 from our beginning!

Here are the four kittens from that large colony, Miles, Mitchel, Mindy and Miffin.  Miffin did not want to be friendly on Wednesday night so did go in as a feral = eartip, but was not big enough to get a rabies shot so we pushed it.  I can tell them apart but it will be a challenge for a foster at first!  They have varying levels of tummy upset but we may have turned a corner with that, food is now staying down.  That happens when they come inside and when they get neutered.  Such a big change, so much happening at once!  All four of them would just like to be held which is quite an armful!  We are sharing a pic of just how tiny a spay incision can be, no wonder they need to tattoo for the future!

There were 19 kittens in attendance (Sully, Subaru, Suzanna, Penny, Tansy, Keaton, Keesha, Kellogg, Keebler, Keyes, Sasha, Sammie, Salty, Josie, Max, Cookie, Streusel, Cupcake, Brownie).  Everyone did very well.  The Bakery gang (Cookie, Cupcake, Brownie, Struesel), Max & Josie and Sully, Subaru & Suzanna were especially engaging with the children who came to visit, as they batted at feathers and wand toys.

2 adoptions occurred just prior to the event at the foster home.

• Clover and Columbine were adopted together by a terrific family from Northbrook.  They had recently lost their 2 senior cats and were looking for 2 new kittens to bring joy to their family.

3 adoptions occurred during the event:

•  Max was adopted by a wonderful couple from Mundelein.  They had previously adopted Max's sister, Callie, and after careful consideration, decided that they could handle a second kitten as well.  I'm sure the brother/sister pair will be happy to be reunited.
• Sully and Subaru were adopted together by a nice young man from Woodridge.  He recently settled in the area and was looking some feline companions.

A couple applications were completed and many cards were distributed.  One of these applications has since been approved and meetings are currently being scheduled with Montana and Syracuse.  This couple has a 10 yr old cat and recently lost her sister to illness, so they are looking for a new kitty who will be a gentle companion for their current cat.

Adoptions from our foster homes have also remained strong in August.  9 kittens (Galena, Saffron, Kenny, Ossie, Daisy, Callie, Alba & Alexander, Bagel) and 2 adult cats (Tomas & Molly) were adopted in the two weeks since our last event.  Galena and Kenny were adopted by the families that met them at the 8/10 event.  Tomas will enjoy being king of the house with a nice couple in Bartlett.  Molly is enjoying being doted on by a wonderful couple in Hanover Park, who had been following her story on our web site.

Many thanks to ALL of the fosters and volunteers who make this great work possible!  While there are days and times when the endless work and volume of cats/kittens can be overwhelming for all of us, it is our positive spirit, support of each other, and love of the cats that keeps us moving forward with this important mission.  Thank you!

Special recognition to the volunteers and fosters who made the 8/24 event possible including efficient set-up and clean-up as well as adoption counseling and interaction with our guests - Sara, Steve, Whitney, Candy, Jen, Laura B, Diane, Lucy, Amanda & Anthony S, Julie M, Dedra/Marisa, Amanda B.

Thanks also for all of the other valuable contributions to this event - to Steve for arranging the event with the store; to Candy for the excellent 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 volunteer name tags; to Debbie and Mike for the on-going updates to the Adoptable Cats & Kittens board and binder; to Steve for entering our many August adoptions into the PetSmart iPad; to Sara P for helping with the laundry and coordinating our lunch run.

We have 3 events scheduled for September and early October:

• Sunday, 9/15, PetSmart at 63 Rice Lake Square in Wheaton, from 11am-3pm.  This is the 3rd PetSmart National Adoption Weekend of the year.
• Saturday, 9/28, Pet Supplies Plus at 270 N Bolingbrook Dr in Bolingbrook, from 11am-3pm.
• Saturday, 10/5, Two Bostons at 2523 W. 75th St. in Naperville, from 12noon-3pm.  This is the annual Two Bostons Adopt-A-Rama.

Please mark your calendars!

Thanks,

Sue

Still, we managed to take 11 feral cats and 2 friendly cats to DCAS on 5/9, composed of 6 female and 7 male.  On 5/16 we sent 10 ferals to DCAS, one male was already neutered and one female was discovered to have a mass located in such away that there was no way to save her and was euthanized, she would have suffered greatly if we had not intervened.  Of the remaining 8, 6 were female and 2 were male.

This brings us to an additional 21 in these two trips, 33 for the month, 128 for the year and 11,099 since our start in 2007.

While we are doing TNR, we are also collecting moms & babies which we keep crated together until the kittens are old enough to be separated from their moms, we need nice, cool, quiet garages for this purpose so that the moms can be stress free and raise happy kittens!  So far this year we have brought in a whopping 11 moms and 41 kittens.  There is another family in my garage, going to foster tomorrow that will bring the total to 12 moms and 43 kittens.  One of our volunteers is trying for another set tonight that are housed in a boat in a garage – owner would like to take his boat out for use J.  In addition, we have 12? kittens who came in without their moms – I think I’m missing a set, and a group of 5 is supposed to come into foster tomorrow.  Ye gods!  And we’re just getting started!  Every day brings more, but we actually are seeing fewer than previous years, SO FAR.

Please Come Out And Support Us!

Tomorrow is our Chipotle event – 33% of your purchase goes to Feral Fixers between 4pm and 8pm.  Come eat some great food and after, walk over to 5 Below and get some great stuff – t-shirts, toys, Father’s Day gifts, they have a huge variety! and 10% goes to Feral Fixers!

Help us neuter all these kittens!!!!

Update On Cat Trips

37 cats in Tammy's garage!

On 5/2 we took 12 cats to DCAS, 8 female ferals and 4 male ferals, plus a male that had been neutered in 2017, just a few blocks away.  There was also a female that had 4 wk old kittens at a grade school – a staff member scooped up 4 of the kittens and whisked them off to County before we could get there, the mom was trapped – you do not release an unneutered cat once you have them, leaving a 5th kitten still out there alone til the mom was returned on Saturday.  We’re pretty sure the kitten is still there but the mom keeps getting back in the trap – we do dish up good food.  This is 12 for the month of May, bring us to 107 for the year and 11,078 since our start in 2007.

Look for these kittens at WSHS for adoption in 4 months - 1 day old here!

Next Few Weeks

We have a lot planned over the next few weeks:

• 5/20 to 5/26, shop at Five Below in Finley Square, Downers Grove – intersection of Finley and Butterfield with one of our flyers and Feral Fixers will receive 10% of your purchase price!  A whole week in which you can benefit the cats and further our spay/neuter efforts!!!
• On 5/22, stop in at Chipotle, also in Finley Square, between 4pm & 8pm and a whopping 33% of your bill goes to Feral Fixers – everyone really enjoyed their meals there last year!  Then go next door and get those toys, crafts and beach items that will keep the kids busy this summer at Five Below!
• Beginning 5/26 you can drop off garage sale items in Warrenville for our 6/1 Fantastic Garage Sale!  No electronics but just about anything else will be welcomed!  And shoppers, we have so much coming our way – you never know what you will find at a Feral Fixers Garage Sale!  We have another fundraiser coming up – As If They Were Our Own -  funds from the garage sale will be directed towards the medical bills that we have for the ferals that no one “owns” yet still require care for wounds, dentals, so much to maintain their quality of life
• The Shred4Rescues event is on June 8th – get motivated, go thru your files, come shred your stuff at this yearly event at Citadel Information Management in Westmont.  Visit with Feral Fixers and the other organizations benefitting from this great fundraiser!

Plenty to do, plenty of ways to benefit Feral Fixers!