Great article from the Washington Post: “Fight Over Ferals Boils Down to One Question: Do Alley Cats Live a Good Life?” We think the answer is a resounding YES, especially after they are fixed.

Last week we had one very pretty, very pregnant momma cat who decided to deliver her kittens right there in the trap upon her arrival at our clinic!
First bit of good news, all five of the kittens came out healthy and strong. We then determined that momma cat was a friendly stray, which was the second bit of good news. She was very tame as can be and easy to handle, so the first-time trapper who had brought momma cat in decided to foster the new happy family until the …

What’s in a name, right? In this case not much. Ringworm has nothing to do with worms. Nor does it always show up as a ring!
Ringworm is a skin infection caused by a fungus, otherwise known as dermatophytes. These are microscopic parasitic fungi that live on the skin, specifically in hair follicles. Ringworm is a very hardy fungus that can be present in soil. Cats and cattle are the two species of animals that seem to get ringworm the most, although dogs and other animals can contract it. Humans …

Do you have feral cats in your neighborhood that you would like to get fixed? Do you have a friendly stray cat that is hanging around who you are concerned about? Have you noticed litters of kittens springing up left and right? Or are you just simply a responsible pet owner and would like to get your cat spayed or neutered? If the answer to any of those questions is yes, then we can help you.
 
FixNation is a non-profit organization providing free spay/neuter services for homeless stray and feral cats. We …

There was a great piece that aired last week on NBC Nightly News about feral cat caretaking. The piece educated about feral cats and showed how trap-neuter-return is the only humane solution to helping the cats within our communities. Very well done. Bravo NBC!

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Are you feeding feral cats? Whether you are a rookie feeding a few cats in the backyard, or whether you are a “pro” who has been feeding large colonies of cats in back alleys for years, here are eight great ways to make sure your feral feeding stations are stellar set-ups.
1. Proper Placement of Stations
Feeding stations should be discreet, low-profile and they should blend in with the immediate surroundings as much as possible. Try to keep them out of sight from the general public. Two reasons for this — first, …

by Liz Cava
Some cats just don’t seem to want to go into the trap, no matter how hard you try. You’ve used smelly bait, you’ve withheld food to get them hungry, and yet you still sit out night after night and come up with an empty trap!
Here are the top 10 tips and tricks I’ve collected over the years that may help you nab your wily kitty:

Pray.  Even if you don’t pray…pray.
Drink.  Even if you don’t drink…drink.
Communicate telepathically with the cat. Even if you don’t believe in communicating telepathically with a cat…send …

FixNation and Valley Vet Non Profit (VVNP) are teaming up this summer to bring you even more days when you can get your feral cats fixed for free.
Starting in August and going through December 2010, VVNP will be open on the 2nd Monday of every month for a day dedicated to fixing feral cats. This is an extra day above and beyond when VVNP is normally open, as a way to expand how many feral cats are being fixed within our community each month. VVNP will fix up to 50 feral …

A young couple, James O’Neel and Justine Hong, came in to FixNation recently for trap training classes. They had an orange tabby cat who needed to be TNR’d. This orange girl constantly hung out on the top of a concrete wall in between their condo yard and the yard next door. According to James and Justine, this orange kitty would not come down onto the ground for anything! They only ever saw her up on the wall. She was very skittish and very elusive.
While this Cirque du Soleil aerial scenario …

Cats come in a wide variety of breeds and colors. Homeless cats especially can be a motley sort, generally being the offspring of many different kinds of breeds all intermingling. At our morning check-in, we ask trappers to list each cat’s color and breed, as these descriptions help us keep accountability for the cat as he/she goes through our clinic for the day. Here are some common color, breed descriptions, and terms that you may hear us use.
Solid
All over solid color; no striping whatsoever. You can have solid greys (also called …