Feral Fixers 2010 February Logo
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 #16 - February  2010
In This Issue
Message from the President
Want to Help?
Starting back up...
How many cats? 1,514 !!
Food donations
Donate to Feral Fixers
Calendar of Upcoming Events
Shop for Feral Fixers
Visit us on the Web
What is Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR)?
About us
Dear Friend,

We're in the middle of winter, but March is just around the corner and with that, our TNR efforts will again move into high gear.  We don't know how many more cats we'll have TNR'd by the end of this year, but we do know that every cat we have spayed / neutered will bring us one step closer to the day when every cat will be wanted.

Last month our second annual FROSTY CLAWS Open House was held and, like our first one, it was a huge success!  Thank you to everyone who helped make this event happen and a special thank you to everyone who attended - we know you had a great time.

In our monthly Message from the President column, Tammy writes about the success of Frosty Claws (and our need of a new venue for next year's event), the demise of the Jewel Shop & Share program and a mention of some of the many services which Feral Fixers provides.

You can also read about how we are back from our break, hard at it TNR'ing cats again and the food donations that we've been fortunate enough to receive.

Thank you for all of your continued support!
 
Sincerely,
 

Feral Fixers
Message from the President

February Notes

President's Scroll
Many thanks to everyone who donated to and attended Frosty Claws! The atmosphere was especially pleasant this year, almost everyone seemed to know at least one other person there and by the time they left they knew many more. I was very glad to see people that I've known for years and to meet so many new people!

As our colony map illustrates, people who TNR are not alone! Seeing the 300+ colonies that we have assisted had a huge impact on people. Some colonies are next door to each other, some several blocks away, yet they share the same cats. We hope to fill in all those empty spaces, as there are most likely cats to be done there!

Our special thanks to:
  • Lilac Bakery
  • Miscellany by Monick
  • Lynfred Winery
  • Essential Healing & Massage
  • Rita Cervantes and Judy Jarosik for hosting the candy bar raffle
  • Laura Magrini - Recycled 2 New
  • Shirley Ekblad, AVON representative
  • Felines, Inc who donated a van full of canned food and towels
  • Jennifer Wyrick
  • Emelia Hobart was the winner of the Attendance Raffle! She donated the $25 gas card right back to us - thank you, Emelia!
The event has grown - next year we will need another location - please let us know any suggestions you might have. We need a place that: holds 100 people, we can serve food, we can ask for a donation at the door, plenty of parking, close to Lombard and we have at least a 6 hour window in which to hold the event in January.

Hope to see you next year!

Read more...
Want to help?

Help WantedInterested 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) or email us at info@feralfixers.org.
Starting back up...

Start CatAfter a 6 week break, we're now ramping up our major TNR efforts again.  We processed one batch of cats this past week and have at least two more trips scheduled this week.

But during this 'break' in our efforts, one of our super-volunteers brought in more than two dozen cats to PAWS to be spayed/neutered.  These cats were all from difficult situations that really couldn't wait until we resumed our normal operations.

Thank you Judy - and the cats thank you too!  And thank you to all our other volunteers - we literally couldn't do what we do without you!
How many cats? - 1,514 !!

Statistics graphicFeral Fixers was founded in September of 2007.  In that abbreviated first year, Feral Fixers had 86 cats spayed / neutered.  In 2008, Feral Fixers had 525 cats spayed / neutered.  In 2009, Feral Fixers had 868 cats spayed / neutered.  And so far in 2010, Feral Fixers has had 35 cats spayed / neutered.

This brings us to a total of 1,514 cats.  Clicking on the calculator to the right will send you to the Feral Fixers 'Statistics' page where you can see our progress, month-by-month, since we've started work.
Food donations

In addition to the food donated to Feral Fixers by people attending Frosty Claws (special thank you to Abby and Felines, Inc. for the large donation of cat food and towels!), we were fortunate enough to receive a big donation of food from Racheal Resk through her PURRS-Naperville organization.  We've had a long association with this wonderful organization - they've donated food and money to Feral Fixers and have placed many, many friendly cats and kittens that we've come across in our work. They do not have their own shelter, instead fostering out the cats until they're ready to adopt and then 'showing' them at local Pet stores.

The picture thumbnail shows the back of an SUV packed nearly to the brim with cat food donated by PURRS-Naperville. And this was the second load! The first load was even more full - packing the entire cargo area of the SUV - front to back - side to side and top to bottom. Click on the thumbnail to see a full-size version of the picture.

Feral Fixers distributes this food to various colony caretakers, caretakers who want to do right by 'their' ferals but who are just not able to afford enough cat food to keep their colony(s) well fed.

Thanks again Rachael and PURRS-Naperville! Feral Fixers and the caretakers who receive this food really appreciate it.
Donate to Feral Fixers

PayPal DonationFeral Fixers offers its TNR services to all colony caretakers, without charge.  While we ask for donations from colony caretakers, we recognize that for some of them, any additional cost is just too much.  Therefore we rely on donations from other individuals to make up the difference and allow us to continue our work.  These donations allow us to spay/neuter additional cats, keep a 'bank' of traps and trap dividers we loan out for free, hold workshops and provide other educational benefits.

You can help us continue our work by clicking on the Donate button, above.  This will take you to the PayPal website where you can donate to Feral Fixers via PayPal or credit card.  Feral Fixers is a registered 501c3 charitable organization and all donations are deductible to the fullest amount allowed by law.

We greatly appreciate any amount you can afford to give - Thank You!
Calendar of Upcoming Events

Calendar GraphicJune 12th, 2010 - DuPage Animal Care & Control (DCACC) hosts its first annual "Friends Fur-ever Festival" to benefit DCACC's homeless pets.  This is a combination of two events they've held in previous years: the Multi-Shelter Pet Expo and the Dog Wash & Walk.  The event will be held from 11:00am to 3:00pm at the DCACC Shelter located at 120 N County Farm Road in Wheaton.  Of course Feral Fixers will be hosting a booth at this event.  Come out and see us!

September 11th, 2010 - Pet Lovers Showcase in Wood Dale.  This event will be held from 10:00am to 2:00pm.  Feral Fixers will again be hosting a booth at this event.  Our relationship with the city of Wood Dale continues to grow and we anticipate spaying/neutering many, many cats in this community this year.  Come out to this event and say hello!
BibbShop 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 CafĂ© Press store and Buy Something! In addition to the Bib shown to the right, we have T-shirts, sweatshirts, aprons, hoodies, messenger bags, coffee mugs, tote-bags, 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 Bib or visit our website and click on the 'Buy Something' button at the top - Thank you!
WWW GraphicVisit 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!
Ear tipped cat What is Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR)?

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.

When space is available, 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.
Feral Fixers, NFP, is a certified 501c3 corporation - EIN Number 13-4364615