Are You Ready for Frosty Claws?

Attending Frosty Claws?

Deadline for Early Registration is fast approaching but you are welcome to walk in the door - donation is $20. We will have food and raffles, Silent Auction and lots of other cat lovers to meet. Friendships have formed at Frosty Claws! The Stick Raffle is back this year. Bring your coins to donate as we will have a coin sorter – “Coins For Cats!” While you do not have to be present to win the Auction and Raffles, prizes need to be picked up at our building, 330 Eisenhower Ln N, Lombard in the following week or so. We have a lot of high-value items this year – airline tickets with luggage, a woman’s bike, a beautiful hand-crafted cat tree, handmade quilts, hand knitted Afghan, and so much more! We are still putting prizes together (there’s a lot of alcohol!) but we’ve posted some on Facebook to keep you informed. This is a great opportunity to talk to volunteers and find out how you can make a lasting difference for the cats! You can see picture of some of the Silent Auction items at the end of this blog post.

Lives Change – We Need Volunteers!

People are facing many changes these days and THE CATS need more volunteers! There are many ways to volunteer but right now we need to fill AM in the TNR room – that involves cleaning and feeding the ferals and if there are cats/kittens approaching tameness, scooping litter boxes in their crates. TNR is always in flux. There might be one cat or 35+, depending on time of year and how many s/n slots we have available for the week. Individuals need to be calm, speak softly, physically capable of moving a trap with a cat in it (could be 20lb weight), have attention to detail, and NOT try to make every cat adoptable, which can be very hard to NOT do – the cats really need to make clear how willing they are. Fill out a volunteer application and let’s see what fits for you! Cleaning and clerical, petting and coordinating fundraisers, managing a building improvement and of course trapping and transport! Truthfully, we are so short of time that you need to be insistent that you want to volunteer – we need you but can’t always call you! Can you imagine? We look forward to exploring the ways you can make a difference for THE CATS!

Cats Started Literature

The first novel written in English was called Beware The Cat by William Baldwin (1515-1563). Published in 1570 it includes cats as its main characters, set in Ireland and satirizes Catholicism. The cats were evil for the most part – was this the start of the prejudice against cats that have followed them thru history?

Cats Can’t Read – But This Is Good!

As noted in a previous blog post, mosquito control chemicals affect cats. A new Bill taking effect in Illinois in 2025 may help with keeping people aware of pesticide applications. Summaries of each bill provided herein are pulled from the Illinois General Assembly’s website (ilga.gov) as a resource for municipalities. Any grammatical or syntax errors have not been corrected; the text is shown as obtained from ilga.gov.

“Provides that at least 24 hours before the state or a unit of local government, including a mosquito abatement district or a commercial entity hired by the state or a unit of local government applies a pesticide, including a pesticide intended to control mosquitoes, to a public right-of-way that is located within the corporate boundaries of a municipality, the state, mosquito abatement district or other unit of local government in which the application is to be made shall provide written notice to the public of the application of the pesticide, with certain notice information requirements, with notice sufficient if posted in newsletters, calendars or other correspondence currently published by the state or the unit of local government in which the application is to be made. Provides that the state or a unit of local government, including a mosquito abatement district, need not comply with certain notice requirements if the application of pesticide is in response to: (i) disease causing agents in vector mosquitoes; (ii) the occurrence of mosquito-borne disease in animal or human populations; or, (iii) a natural disaster recovery effort. IML opposed the legislation. Effective January 1, 2025.”

First Of 2025

Got a call about a cat that was attacking its caretaker despite being very friendly for a long time. First off, he wasn’t neutered and turns out he had wound on his chest. Now neutered and very calm in a crate, we’re going to try relocating him as a Working Cat once a location can be figured out. We’re hoping now that he feels better and is not subject to the hormone overload, things will work out for him.

01/06 – DCAS – 1 feral male.

Total: January and year to date - 1, since 2007 - 15,735.

As Many As Possible As Soon As Possible

Working Cat Study

More and more TNR and cat-rescue operations are implementing a Working Cat program - a program to re-home feral cats that cannot be returned to their trapped location. Feral Fixers Working Cat program has been in operation for many years with great success. A study was done of one of the Working Cat programs in Florida.

"Operation Catnip’s (OC) Working Cat Program (WCP) was created to contribute to life-saving efforts for poorly socialized unowned cats that cannot return to their original location and in turn relocation needs to be implemented. The goal of this study was to evaluate the OC’s WCP, a cat management program, conducted in Florida from January 1, 2019, to December 1, 2023."

"In conclusion, WCPs are an alternative for managing poorly socialized cats based on an understanding of cat behavior and population dynamics. Although there are disadvantages to relocating cats, the results from our study suggest that WCPs are well suited for well-man-aged relocations, making instrumental changes that improve cat welfare, and achieving overall caregiver satisfaction. These findings create a solid basis for sug-gesting the implementation of more well-structured WCPs should be considered a mainstay in animal wel-fare throughout Florida (and nationwide) in terms of promoting live-saving capacity and finding the right out-come for every cat."

Shown below are some of the items available for Silent Auction at the upcoming Frosty Claws!


Afghan - hand knit by volunteer, "Assuring" pattern in Caron Deep Violet, 70" x 53"


Name brands of facial care - L'Oreal, Strivectin, La Roche, brushes, sponges, LED vanity mirror


Black Cat Tote/Purse - handmade by Rose, her crafting is wonderful! Approx. retail value would be $200.


"Dream Watch" by Naomi Pridijian is a beautiful, framed print

Star Quilt - a masterpiece by JoEllen,

measures 68" x 68"


Meriden B Company Silverplate Footed Tea Pot 1877 Found on eBay at a value of around $100 +/-. The 1877 marking isn't the year but the pattern. Silver plate and made by a company called Meriden Brittania Co. Meriden B Company Silverplate Footed Tea Pot 1877. Meriden B Co silverplate was unlike any other, using multiple different motifs and geometric designs. This piece has clovers embellishing the body and the use of lions sprinkled about on the handle, spout and legs. They also used the German cross as a finial. This piece was ahead of its time, with an art deco style but the patent was applied a good 50 years before the Art Deco movement. Measures 10" tall and 10" handle to spout.