The Feral Blog

Cats Don’t Care… But We Do! Morgan, Stitch & Valentino Updates + Feb 22 Event

Written by: Tammy McAuley

Cats Don’t Care

Nope, they don’t care if we need time off.

On 2/12 we took a previously neutered feral into GEAH for limping. No outside wounds, x-rayed, looked all over and could find nothing. Could be Morgan is just so fat that movement is an issue! Or he likes visiting with us as he was treated for a foot injury in 2023! Morgan went back home and hopefully will cut back on the calories. We do our best to assist the cats in the area beyond spay/neuter. (No injuries — just 15.3 pounds of fabulous feral! Click here to view Morgan’s full medical report and elbow x-rays.)

2/18 a cat was brought in that actually was previously neutered and had a microchip. From Chicago, a former feral, he came out to the ‘burbs to be an inside cat. Landlord had the door open and he and his sister got out. Sister came back inside right away, Stitch decided to roam for more than a month. We trapped him, got his info from his chip and he is now back home – his people were taking him to the vet ASAP as he had upper respiratory and diarrhea from his time outside. We enjoy returning lost cats to their owners – those microchips make a difference!

2/16 1 friendly male to GEAH, received injured foot care and neuter – he was sedated anyway! Valentino is a wonderful boy and will be up for adoption when fully recovered and has learned how great houses are in foster care!

2/19 DCAS – 1 friendly, 1 feral, both females. Hoping this feral decides to become friendly but you never know.

That brings us to February total – 4, 2026 – 11 total, 16,556 since 2007!

As Many As Possible As Soon As Possible

Cat Technology Leads to Car Safety

Cats have benefitted humans in many ways. What you may not know is that cats led to the development of car safety changes almost 100 years ago and have been studied to make current day camera technology improvements.

February 22nd Adoption Event

Right now, we have 13 cats scheduled for an appearance on 2/22 at our building. Some may be adopted before; it is always a good idea to fill out an adoption application in advance. Fosters are often on hand to share information about the cats who have lived with them. Check out our Adoptables on our website and make an appointment to visit with the others who can’t be at this event!

  • Sunday, February 22, 1pm - 4pm, 330 Eisenhower Ln N, Lombard

No Surgeries This Week, But Plenty Still Happening at Feral Fixers

Written by: Tammy McAuley

We’ve been trying to take time off as best we can.

We do have a female in TNR who has turned out to be incredibly sweet and hopefully she will get spayed next week.

We have an enormous previously TNR’d feral in the TNR room who was supposed to have an injured leg, finally, yesterday he was favoring the right front leg – now we have a direction to go in. Vet full today, tomorrow, closed Sunday, he will be seen on Monday, and we’ll pop him into a crate for a couple of days even though he is sure to trash it big time!

Volunteers have family emergencies, vets have come down with that nasty new cold, Monday is a holiday, and despite the warmer weather we just can’t process significant numbers of cats 'til our trip the last week of February. There’s only so much we can do.

We have about 100 cats to trap on our list for the end of February and beginning of March, wish us luck!

Donations Greatly Appreciated!

Part of my duties is processing donations. Very grateful at how busy I’ve been the last couple of months. With all of the hardships everyone is experiencing it is always a surprise when I go to the post office or open an email advising us of a donation.

Yesterday a note was with a check: “Thank you for what you do to help the kitties. I’m starting to see more cats in my neighborhood. They look like they were abandoned and for sure males not fixed. I wish I could send more for a donation but its already a bad money year. Thank you again.”

Of course, as soon as possible we’ll be looking at that area. For years and years, this area was one that community service officers fined people feeding cats and therefore they hid what they were doing, the numbers grew and the neighbors complained, round and round it went. Municipalities simply do not have the funds to pay a CSO to do that work, the numbers continue to grow, but they will not endorse TNR officially, they just respond to complaints to this day with threats of fines – at least they don’t go looking for infractions so caretakers are more likely to contact us without that fear hanging over their heads. The officers do not WANT to pursue fines; it’s the ordinances on the books that they need to follow. But there I go on a tangent!

Trap/Neuter/Return is the main purpose of Feral Fixers. A side effect to this process is friendly cats and kittens, therefore we do adoptions. If we do not find homes for those cats on hand, what happens to the kittens and cats who would be very happy in homes but do not get the chance to come inside and change their lives. Please ask where the cat you are adopting came from, shop local to help with the local issues. Share our Adoption page, talk up how wonderful Feral Fixers truly is!

February 22nd Adoption Event

We still have almost 30 cats/kittens on hand for adoption. If you watch Facebook, there are so many cats still awaiting adoption at all of the area shelters. What can we say? You have to find the right feline for you! Check out our Want to Adopt? link at the top of our website. Fosters should be on hand to give you information on these cats who have lived with them. These are not cats that have continued to live in cages, they have experienced real life. If you cannot attend, individual meetups are possible. Fill out an adoption questionnaire in advance to speed up the process but you can stop in at an adoption event to learn more about our cats on hand that day and fill out a form for a future adoption. 

  • Sunday, February 22, 1pm - 4pm, 330 Eisenhower Ln N, Lombard, IL

Events Are for YOU As Much as Feral Fixers!

Great to see the El Famous diners yesterday while I was there. Adopter brought in photos of her two boys adopted last year with updates about them – they came from the Echo Point location – so glad they are doing well! These events are not just fundraisers; they allow us to see familiar faces! Food was great, I could have had yet another order of tacos, but I did bring nachos home to have as leftovers! Our next dining out event will be in April, look for updates!

Thank you for reading this update. Back to trapping in two weeks!

As Many As Possible As Soon As Possible

The Pressure Is On: Help Us TNR More Cats in 2026 – Volunteers, Fundraiser & Kitten Adoptions

Written by: Tammy McAuley

Scary!

Looking at the coming year, seeing those months stretching before us, yikes! 

Priority right now is the competition for volunteers -it has never been so intense. There are hundreds of non-profits in DuPage.

Our current volunteers have experienced so many changes in their lives, and we need additional support in many directions. We need: more trappers, more animal care at the building, more transporters, more fosters, more adoption support, you name it.

You may have seen the posts on social media from other animal organizations that are in desperate need of more volunteers and here we are joining with everyone else.

Cats need to be trapped, cared for, transported, cared for again and returned. Kittens and friendlies need to be cared for, to be fostered and adoptions need to take place. 

The consequence of insufficient volunteers would be the inability to reduce the volume of unneutered cats, increased numbers of kittens outside going on to make more, more cats who otherwise could find homes not being able to and on and on.

Make 2026 not so scary – come volunteer!

Burritos For Good!

El Famous is one of the most favorite Mexican restaurants in the area! 

Thursday, February 12 • 10:30am-10pm, Join us for a delicious all-day fundraiser benefiting Feral Fixers! El Famous Burrito (located at 256 W Roosevelt Rd in Lombard, IL) is generously donating 20% of all proceeds from dine-in and to-go orders placed that day straight to Feral Fixers — helping us spay/neuter, vaccinate, and care for local feral cats in need. How to participate? Super simple! Show this flyer (printed or on your phone), OR just mention “Feral Fixers” when you order (630-613-8460) - www.elfamousburrito.net). No minimums, no limits — every burrito, taco, quesadilla, or combo helps make a difference! Satisfy your Mexican food cravings and support a great cause at the same time. Bring your friends, family, coworkers — the more, the merrier! Come hungry, leave happy — and help give local cats a brighter future! We can’t wait to see you there. 

Adoption Events

Next Adoption Events – We still have kittens who are three to four months old available for adoption. Kitten Season is just about year ‘round these days. Visit our Want to Adopt? link at the top of our website. Our adoption events usually have fosters may be on hand to give you information on these cats who have lived with them, learning the ins and outs of home life. If you cannot attend, individual meetups are possible. It is important to fill out an adoption questionnaire in advance to speed up the process, but you can stop in at an adoption event to learn more about our cats on hand that day and fill out a form for a future adoption. 

  • Saturday, February 7th, from 11am -3pm, 330 Eisenhower Ln N, Lombard, IL
  • Sunday, February 22, 1pm - 4pm, 330 Eisenhower Ln N, Lombard, IL

Another Neuter!

Still not starting full on trapping but we had to help a cat with an injured tail. Lizzardo was neutered and his tail repaired, we’ll hold onto him a couple of days to make sure he’ll be okay. Temps may be in the 30’s during the day next week and he has sheltering spaces. Every situation can be different. We will return to trapping soon, the pressure is on and we have a list already!

  • 2/2– DCAS – 1 feral male. 

Total: February 1, year-to-date 8, since 2007 16,553!

Picture name
Lizzardo's untreated tail before he was trapped.

Lizzardo really doesn't want to share his appearance but food wins!

As Many As Possible As Soon As Possible

From The President

2026 - Can You Believe it!

Written by: Tammy McAuley

We’re almost thru 2025 as this is written. The year zoomed by!

Volunteers, caretakers, fosters, donors contributed to the spay/neuter of 811 feral and stray cats and kittens. Once again, we have done over 300 adoptions this year with the help of our trappers, fosters, adoption and animal care volunteers with just 10 days to go til the end of the year as I write this. We’ve helped so many cats and humans with the care of cats. Long-lasting effects in the future of cats in the DuPage County area.

Another year where there were limited spay/neuter services, pet owners and feral caretakers impacted by financial and housing issues. This has resulted in increased volume of cats outside and intact, creating more kittens. All shelters in the area are full, constantly.

We started trapping in February at locations with barns and outbuildings and accomplished 117 by the end of March – very early start. The whole year had its ups and downs with surgery and volunteer availability. But this contributed to a total of 16,545 spay/neuters since our start in 2007. Amazing, isn’t it?

Weather is the great unknown, but we hope to hit the ground running once again by the end of February, there are many locations that we need to get back to. Cats move around and just when we think we have resolved an area – a call with 20 more cats from a “finished” location comes in. Feral Fixers is at the top of all the search engines and perhaps someday we can expand our coverage to more than firm DuPage County response. That would take more trappers and more animal care support across the board. Please consider learning to trap and working in your own neighborhood, making a lasting difference! So many cards this year have mentioned how they are not seeing kittens as a result of our efforts.

Each week of trapping can result in kittens or cats that can become adoptable, requiring additional care at the building and then fostering and then adoption. Injured cats needing additional care are held at the building for recovery. Cats that must be relocated are usually held at the building until that can be arranged. This all requires an increased number of volunteers so that we can meet the need.

Our donors have made a huge difference, supporting us with the funds that keep the cats healthy, fed, warm in the Winter, cool in the summer. Imagine the food bill this past year! Skids of cat litter!

We always hope for fewer cats to be trapped, unlimited spay/neuter capacity and the day the phone will stop ringing with more and more cats to be cared for. Please help us make 2026 that year!

Donors, volunteers, caretakers have been doing so much for the past 18 years, and we’ve done so much – 16,545 cats!  Just remember –

As Many As Possible As Soon As Possible

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!

Too much going on!

Written by: Tammy McAuley

There is so much to talk about, this is going to seem more like a blog. Please bear with me!

1,000th Cat!

When you start doing TNR, the emergency is right before you. There is this one cat, there is this one colony, there is this whole town overrun with cats! You don’t really see down the road to where this will lead you. Prior to our forming Feral Fixers, I helped about 200 cats. I thought that was a huge accomplishment over the course of 4 years and it was, huge. Now, in 22 months we have helped over 1,000 cats. I don’t have the vocabulary to describe that accomplishment.

It takes so many people to produce these results. It takes a good organization with good officers that know what they are doing - thank you to Ted, Kurt, Regina, Chris. It takes fabulous volunteers who transport, trap, foster, obtain donations, participate in events, offer equipment and lend their own experience to this endeavor. It takes caretakers who care about these animals and are willing to care for the ones in their own yard as well as spreading the word to their neighborhood and community. It takes vets who are willing to have a feral in their practice and to treat it.

Most of our “business” is thru word of mouth. We don’t advertise because we currently could not support that many calls. Please consider volunteering your resources to help us control the feral cat population and reduce the number of cats euthanized! As we say on the website, tell us what YOU can do!

I recently looked at a map of Bensenville, where we have a good relationship. I saw all the streets where we had been and I saw huge areas that we had not been to at all. I am looking forward to residents in those areas calling us for assistance, because I know there are cats there, they are everywhere! Shelters are already saying that they have not received as many requests to take kittens this year.

Please help us to keep up the pressure, to go on to the next 1,000! We need YOU to help us to do what we do!

The gift of Gordy

I wanted to talk about Gordy – remember Gordy with the munched on paws? He is about 10 months old now, totally healed, loves to play and able to jump up and down. His front paws look like a bad case of bunions, he has been to a specialist who says he will have a fine life as a couch potato – indicating that his activity level should not be expected to be that of other cats. The big ligaments that connect paws to leg were severed, but smaller tendons are doing the job. Gordy is a wonderful cat, very happy. Very bored. He would love to be able to run about an entire house (not possible in mine), get into all kinds of trouble and lay in a window sill watching the birds. While we do not do adoptions, I want to find a new life for Gordy and am looking for the special people who can make him a part of their adults-only family (most children would not be able to appreciate the restrictions that Gordy will have). They would need to be really special people to be considered. If you are those people, please contact me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., tell me about yourselves and why you would care for Gordy and make him a part of your family.

Summer of the BOT

No, Bot is not an acronym for some underground, nefarious organization. It is the name given to the larva of a fly that lays eggs, animals inhale the eggs, the eggs hatch in the lungs and then burrow to the surface of the skin, taking up residence there to form a grub that constantly munches on its host, producing a nasty liquid that oozes out as the grub spins in its hole. Livestock, wildlife and most importantly for us, feral cats can be affected. When it becomes noticeable, it at first appears to be an abscess. Then you see the center move...

As of this writing, I have heard of or experienced a total of 4 occurrences of these creatures in the past 3 weeks. One was in Lombard, another on a poultry farm way out there, the third was a kitten I got from a caretaker in Downers Grove, and the most recent was in unincorporated Lombard. At least two of these locations were close to heavily wooded areas.

Since I discovered the grub at 9 PM, my first response was to attempt to kill the grub. These guys are filled with toxins so you do not want to grab it and risk breaking it open. All of that nastiness could enter the cat’s bloodstream and kill it. Best to kill it and then remove it, usually requiring surgery by a vet. Vaseline is your best weapon. Cram the stuff into the hole around the grub so that it becomes coated in it and then suffocates. This is not immediate, the website said it might take overnight. But, yes, indeed, in the morning, there was the 3/4” grub protruding half out of its hole, dead as can be. Yea!!! The little guy had a couple smaller ones, dead also. It is possible for them to come all the way out on their own, these did not.

Vets can get really excited about bots, they don’t see them very often, but they did see them at vet school so they like to be able to use that experience! Usually the wounds are very clean due to the grubs constant munching, but antibiotics are still recommended.

A truly feral cat would not be easy to treat for this, probably would require sedation, so plan ahead. If you practice TNR, think of what you would do in this situation. Do you have trap dividers? Could you position the cat so that you could apply Vaseline, just for a start? Do you have a vet that you can call on to sedate and remove one of these? Do you have a space that you can hold a feral in order to treat with follow up care - meds in food? It’s all about the planning!

I was lucky. Harry is willing to be a tame kitty and once I was able to hold and treat him and he felt so much better, his care has been a breeze. I will tell you that it was a very panicky half hour while I called people for advice and looked online to figure out the best course of action. These grubs bring about a reaction of complete horror that such an organism even exists! Harry is doing very well and once his upper respiratory is over, should make a wonderful addition to someone’s household!

Soooo Busy – July Zipped By!

Our Wet Your Whiskers event on June 27th was a great success! Approximately 50 people attended and Marc Gunn was fabulous! What a great performer and a wonderful, generous person, too! We didn’t get a chance to announce the Silent Auction winners, so if anyone is wondering who the winners were:

Lynfred Winery - Roselle Mark Wallbruch
Lynfred Winery - Wheaton Regina Dryer
Lynfred Winery - Naperville Larry Clark
Lynfred Winery - Wheeling MJ Dachter
Hotel / Restaurant package Larry Clark
Case of Yellow Tale Rose Ted Semon
Cat Gift Basket Collette Walker
Drop Trap Tammy McAuley

We did not receive a winning bid for the pearls. We will be offering those at a future date, perhaps an online auction – please look for information in a future newsletter or announcement.

Many thanks to PearlParadise.com, Lynfred Winery, Westin Chicago Northwest, Shula’s American Steak House, Robert Kaminski, Regina Dreyer, and Gail Monick – Miscellany by Monick, for their donations to our Silent Auction!

Not one but two 4th of July parades!

In Villa Park:

Mimi, Melissa and Joseph Black, and Kim Giazzon participated in the Villa Park parade, blasting the Stray Cat Strut in Kim’s decorated Subaru wagon! Kate Switalski skated and took photos, amusing the crowd while passing out palm cards donated by the Davis family, owners of PrintWise in Elmhurst advertising Feral Fixers. Residents gave them an extremely warm reception!

In Bensenville:

Mary Rosa decorated her Jeep with a feral cat and Stars and Stripes theme! I walked the route passing out suckers and Feral Fixers info – many people telling me how many cats they had. Parade day is like Halloween in Bensenville, the kids are lined up with their bags to receive treats!

Thank you to everyone who responds to us with such a warm welcome!