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CAREGIVERS
An Open Letter
TO: All Caregivers of Feral Cats
FROM: FixNation
The day-to-day needs of our program are many, as constant attention must be given to clinic management, fundraising, responding to caregiver applications, scheduling spay-neuter appointments, issuing vouchers, community outreach, and much more… With so much to do, it’s easy to get caught up in one’s own world and forget that there is more to our mission than simply our own agenda. In fact, we’re number 2 in the TNR cycle, whereas you, our clients, represent both the T and the R!
This being the case, we take this opportunity to recognize the significant contribution you make to the cause we advocate. Without your individual initiative, borne of little more than a vague desire to “do something,” there would be no need for a service like FixNation. No one forces you to care for free-roaming, homeless cats, yet you are drawn to learning about TNR and humane trapping, spending long and solitary hours, often at night in bleak surroundings, transporting your charges to and from our clinic for spay/neuter surgery, and generally investing major amounts of time and money in feral cat colony management.
We at FixNation thank and commend you for taking this initiative. Without your participation, there would be no way to sterilize 50 to 80 cats per day. It is our honor to serve you…
Sincerely,
Fixnation
CAREGIVER COMMENTS
Hi, Liz,
This entire trapping experience has been so surprisingly wonderful. As it was my very first time trapping, I was quite worried. Luckily, all of my fears were unfounded. You and everyone at Catnippers/FixNation have been beyond wonderful.
My neighbor Candace and I trapped the cats late on Sunday night. On the day of trapping, I baited the food as detailed on the Catnippers website and cut the string holding the door in place. The cats were so hungry and trusting that they eventually walked right past us and into the same trap together. We closed the trap door very gently and then moved them to a safe holding location. The cats didn't thrash or cry at all. It was actually a very calm experience. These cats are feral, but I continue to believe that they are the sweetest and most gentle cats that I have ever encountered.
The FixNation clinic was wonderful! So efficient and clean. I met Karn and Phyllis and even ended up getting a great hug from Karn after I thanked her profusely for setting up such an amazing resource for the public. The wonderful people at FixNation even put little food bowls in the traps for the ride home! :)
Thank you so much again for everything. Things went as smoothly as I could have hoped for and I couldn't be happier about the result.
Sharon
Thank you, thank you, thank you, for your help for our 4 kitties who were born to the pregnant cat that my friend Christine trapped at the park this May!! The kitties were born in our house the following day. Mommy kitty has become quite tame, and very loving, so we think she was abandoned during her pregnancy, and not truly feral. We had mommy spayed two weeks ago, and weaned the kitties at 8 weeks. Fortunately mommy was neg on her FIV/FELV combo test.
Her kitties are all little beauties, and we have started showing them at adoptions on Saturdays.
This Friday we are taking one of the babies to her new home with a lovely couple who are absolutely in love with her. We spend two hours twice a day brushing them, loving them and socializing them, and we are so fortunate that they all have turned out to be very loving, just like their mother. Thanks to your kind help, these babies and their mother have been given happy and loving homes, and have been spared from living on the streets.
Our 7 original cats in our feral colony in Downey are doing great. They gather around us at mealtime, and they are happy and well-fed. However we get new additions from time to time, the most recent being a mother with small kittens. So we are very appreciative of the information about FixNation, as our costs are high for food and neutering.
Best wishes, Lynn ____________ (and friend Christine)
So far, we've not had any other ferals, but as soon as I see them I will let you know. I'm more than willing to trap them and bring them to you. Sidney (the cat we brought in) was released the following night and he shows up maybe once a week for a nice rub (from me only...his way of thanking me, I suppose) and a good meal. We leave food out and it disappears, but we don't know if it's him or possums, ect.
Thank you so much for your wonderful service and if I can help you in any way in the future please let me know.
Amanda
My little kitties are fine, happy & healthy. I decided to return them to their mother as strays, but they are my strays - I'm still feeding them, they have toys, and bedding. Lately, I have started sitting out there with them, with a feather wand, and they are warming up to me to the point that they come up and smell me and put their paws on me. Mama Kitty will sleep just a few feet away from me.
Again, thank you so much. It took us too long to come up with the right thing to do, but once we found it...wow!
I really want to thank you, again. The service you provide is so unbelievably wonderful. And you two, especially, were so very kind.
I will be going on-line before Friday to make a donation.
Gratefully,
Allie
Finally caught the kitten last night about 11:30 PM. He stayed in the cage over night and was very quiet -- no hissing or fight to get out of the cage at all. I think he's going to be very adoptable. I will bring the trap back before lunch today. Thanks for all your help on this, moreover, thank you for everything you do. It's very tough and I'm so happy to know that you're strong enough to do it.
Bill
Hi Liz. A few weeks ago you approved to waive the fee to get 4 kittens fixed (from a feral mom). I just found a home for the last kitten through Happy Strays in La Cañada.
The other 3 I found homes for myself, and two of the three agreed to make a donation to Fix Nation. So I just wanted to say THANK YOU again for all the great work that you're doing!
Theresa
Hi Liz,
Your services are superb! I am so grateful for your organization. I have had to hire a caregiver for my 93 year old mother so my funds are limited at this time so your low fees are a godsend to me. Let me know when to drop by and pick up one of the small traps. I could use two traps but if this is inconvenient I can use the one trap. The early age fixing will be good and yes I would like the testing as well. Your fees are so much lower than my vet. I had the mother cat tested when she was spayed so I think the kittens would be OK but I would like to be sure so doing the testing would important.
Let me know when it would be convenient to drop by for the small trap. Thanks again for all your help in this endeavor.
The cats that I have had fixed are doing well and their behavior is so much better. The big orange cat, who was neutered, use to spray each of my car tires and the odor was just horrible but now he just visits for the chin and ear rubs. He doesn’t leave behind any scents and he doesn’t fight for dominance with the other ferals so my neighbors don’t throw small objects into my yard anymore. Life is peaceful.
Bless you all for the good karma you send. Cecilia
Hiya Liz,
The kitties were up and out the next morning after their surgery and up to their usual shenanigans withnary a care in the world.
The Mama cat spent the 2 nights with us before we let her out. She did fairly well eating the food with the meds in it. Our only challenge we had was keeping the kitties from eating the mom's food. My Mom and I got pretty good a juggling kittens to keep them away from the Mama's drug laced tuna.
The kitties and the Mama love, love, love the dry food you gave us. If we have the dry food feeders outside, they will eat the dry food, instead of the wet food. We mixed your food with our dry Iams Kitten food so they are at least eating the mix. That weight-loss food is like "Kittie Crack". They can't get enough!
Thanks again for your help and encouragement. I have attached a picture of the Mama, her eye is healing very well! I'll try to get pictures of the kittens,
if the little scoundrels will ever stop running and jumping all over the place. They bring such joy and life to my mom and me.
See ya,
Annie
Liz, just following up with you. I’ve come to learn that there is nothing sweeter than the sound of trap door. Go figure, you gals there at Fixnation must offer a pretty good experience for them to want to go back into the cages for a second tour.
February 2008
I want to Thank You and all of the staff at FixNation for making trapping and fixing feral cats so easy. The process that I was dreading was explained step by step on the web site and again by email . Your immediate response to my request for help and the efficient manner in which the scheduling took place truly pushed me to follow through .
Having volunteered in dog rescue for several years I understand many of the challenges and really appreciate your efforts and this professionally run program .
Sincerely,
Joan
....and a cat now known as "Roscoe"
Thanks so, much, Liz. I didn't have much opportunity to talk to you this week, but I hope you know how grateful I am for all the work you do and the patience with which you handle all my requests and questions. For whatever little its worth, you have my undying gratitude for your help. It would be much more difficult to do this work with out the support you and Karn and everyone else in the office give. Thank you.
Talk to you soon.
Brett
I just wanted to thank you and your group again for making this opportunity available for the animals. LA animal rescuers have needed something like this just for ferals for years. And, since it looks as though it may now be easier to get the quick, unencumbered spay/neuter assistance through your group, it inspires me to try to become more active in the arena of feral cats.
I’d like to see if I can perhaps volunteer some time to you and this group, in some way, shape or form. I hope to meet you in person and maybe we can talk about it more. Thanks for providing some extra traps for Kathy and her mother’s project. I really hope to expedite the round up all of the cats at their house to prevent more kittens.
Sincerely,
Dana
Yes, Greystoke is doing fine. It has taken about this long (since we caught him) for him to let himself be pet without trying to bite. He purrs now and rolls on his back, so I think he is feeling better about living here (and also from the surgery.) He uses the litterbox quite cleanly, and now has accepted the cushiony bed I bought him that he rejected a week ago. I don't have many toys yet, just a green stuffed mouse and a cardboard scratchy thing for his claws. He still tries to bite, but less and less, and I just pet his back instead of his head when he gets like that. He doesn't meow or anything either. Only when I open his tent hiding place does he meow and purr. Also, he doesn't hiss quite as much as in the beginning whenever I would look in to his fort. So, I think he will be alright.
Thanks for all of your encouragement and help!
Peter
