Will They Be Okay?

Feral cats have been living thru winters for a very long time.  While it can be challenging if they are not 100% healthy, keep in mind that snow acts as an insulator.  If they can find shelter, they can burrow to it and keep warm - think of igloos.  If you have not done your best to make sure they have a warm shelter, work on it now.  There are several sites for shelter information on our website and you can Google "feral cat shelters" and get tons of information.

Frosty Claws was a Hit!

Thank you to everyone who attended Frosty Claws.  We had a record turnout and everyone seemed to have a great time!  Many people expressed their regrets at having a prior engagement - we will always be trying to schedule it the Sunday before Martin Luther King's Birthday, so keep that in mind in the future.  Everyone enjoyed the food, the raffles and each other's company the most, I think!

No one has inquired, but we did find a ring that day, please contact us if you can identify it.

Getting Back to Trapping

There is much more to Feral Fixers than trapping cats.  There's fundraising, record-keeping, those injured ferals and all of that takes time.  Now we have been hit with this Blizzard of 2011!  It may slow us down more than we had hoped in returning to trapping.  We may not be able to start up again until March. 

One specific need we have is for someone who can commit to having the cats in their garage the evening before they go into PAWS and to be available for their pickup on that day for the trip.  It's a lot to ask, but if you think you can help, it could increase the number of trips we can make into the clinic.  Currently it must be scheduled around my days off and it will limit the number of cats that we can neuter.

So, I know it's hard, but we have to work within our limitations, so please be patient!

Take a Break from Winter and come to Sweet Tomatoes!

Our February Fun-Raiser at Sweet Tomatoes is on Tuesday, February 8th.  Please print a flyer and bring it with you between 5 & 8 PM and Feral Fixers will receive 15% of your total bill!  Come in for the great salads, the hearty soups and the Chocolate Lava Cake!

As was mentioned in the Letter from the President, this year's Frosty Claws was a big success!  We had the largest turnout ever and everyone seemed to have a great time.  There was a Silent Auction, multiple Raffles, prizes galore, music, lots to eat and drink, a demonstration of Trapping techniques and using the proper equipment and, of course, the ability to socialize with like-minded people.

Feral 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 and in 2009, Feral Fixers had 868 cats spayed / neutered. In 2010, Feral Fixers had 1,002 cats spayed / neutered!  This year, Feral Fixers has had 13 cats spayed/neutered.

This brings us to a total of 2,494 cats. Clicking on the abacus will send you to the Feral Fixers 'Statistics' page where you can see our progress, month-by-month, since we've started work.

Our newest fund-raising partner is USBones.com, an online store that offers great food, treats and other pet-related products for both dogs and cats.  If you purchase products from them and select Feral Fixers as your donor organization, USBones.com will donate 25% of the order amount to Feral Fixers.

Please visit their website; it's a great way to stock up on those needed supplies and help Feral Fixers at the same time.  Thank you USBones.com!

 

In the most recent issue of the Triple R Pets TNR News, they show a unique feral cat shelter that one of their volunteers constructed.  It uses a window well cover fastened to a sheet of plywood - this allows the sun to warm up the inside of the shelter providing a toasty retreat for the ferals.

You can find details of the shelter in their newsletter here (or by clicking on the picture).  And, incidentally, if you have TNR needs in southern Cook County, Triple R Pets are the people to call.  They are a great, great group, one we work with a lot, and we highly recommend their services.

You can help Feral Fixers by simply shopping at Gordon Food Services (GFS) and mentioning our name during checkout.  If you shop at GFS, when they ask if your purchase is for a business or charity, all you have to do is say Feral Fixers - you don't need a card or anything and a percentage of your purchase goes to FF at the end of the year.  Feral Fixers is on file, they just type it in and that is all you have to do.  Pass the info on to anyone you know who shops there, anyone can help us raise funds in this way with no added expense!
 
GFS has some great and convenient products - check out what they have to offer!
 
It's like a warehouse club without the membership fee and they have similar large packaging and prices.  And if you don't see something in the store, look online and you can order it for pickup at the store, and Feral Fixers still benefits!

Thank you Gordon Food Services!

Feral Fixers continues to be inundated with calls about "I found some kittens - can you take them for me?"  Even though we are not a shelter, we still get these calls.

The situation is simple; there are just too many kittens and it's overwhelming the shelters and the fosters.  It's SO important to 'TNR that mom' BEFORE she has her next litter.  We're now in the position of usually having to ask people who call about this to 'step up' and socialize and foster these kittens on their own.

And, if everyone who is thinking of adopting a kitten or a cat would adopt TWO of them, rather than just one, this could make a significant dent in the problem.  It's better for the cats anyway, to have some companionship when their owner / caretaker is not home.  It's OK to adopt from any shelter, even from Craigslist as this is where many caretakers are trying to place their cats.

Want to purchase something purr-fect for your cat-lover friends and help out Feral Fixers at the same time?  Just visit our CafePress store and Buy Something! In addition to the Thermos Food Jar shown to the right (which is perfect for keeping your food hot during this cold winter), we have T-shirts, sweatshirts, aprons, hoodies, Mouse Pads, gym bags, messenger bags, coffee mugs, tote-bags, pet food bowls, etc. A portion of each sale goes to help us in our TNR efforts.

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.