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, 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 cats on these special Mondays, …

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 …

By Minoo Rahbar
June 1, 2010
Early one morning, Charlie was transported to FixNation, along with ten other feral cats from our colony. We knew he was in bad shape just by looking at him. By mid-morning, we received a phone call from the FixNation staff. We were expecting to hear that Charlie may need to be humanely euthanized. Instead, much to our surprise and absolute delight, the amazing medical team at FixNation had called to say that the abnormality on Charlie’s head was not due to a tumor or growth as …

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 our top 10 tips and tricks we’ve collected over the years that may help you nab your wily kitty, courtesy of master trapper Liz Cava.

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 …

This is one of our very favorite letters ever. It’s from a 12-year old girl who obviously has a very bright future as a trapper!

Mange is a very common issue with feral and stray cats. We frequently see cats coming into our clinic with varying degrees of mange. To the novice trapper, this skin disease can look pretty alarming. However, our seasoned veterans know this is a very treatable disease, and while it’s uncomfortable for the cat, it can get turned around with a little extra care and attention.
Mange is caused by a parasite, or a very small bug. These parasites actually live and feed on the cat, who acts as a “host”. The …

After seeing a little black tuxedo cat in an apartment parking lot for many months…hungry, thirsty, cold and battered by tenants and their dogs, Lisa Garcia decided it was high time to bring this baby in. She called FixNation to get the kitty in for a spay/neuter appointment and to get doctored up.
Lisa dropped the cat off at FixNation on her appointment day, and by late morning, the FixNation staff called Lisa informing her that the cat was already microchipped!
FixNation tried to contacting the owner but to no avail. So …

We had six very successful Best Friends Catnippers clinics in 2009, fixing nearly 700 cats in total throughout the year. Way to go Catnippers vets and volunteers! We couldn’t have done it without you, so thank you!

The Best Friends Catnippers clinic schedule for next year, 2010, will be on the following Sundays:

January 10, 2010
March 14, 2010
May 16, 2010
July 11, 2010
September 12, 2010
November 14, 2010

All clinics will be held at FixNation, 7680 Clybourn Ave., L.A., 91352.

An initial application and reservations are required in advance. Please do not bring cats to the …

What Is Feline Leukemia Virus (FeLV)?
By Dr. Amanda Page

What is Feline Leukemia Virus?
Feline Leukemia Virus (FeLV) is a serious viral disease that affects ONLY CATS. Fortunately, there are many ways we can protect our cats from exposure to this disease. It is estimated that 2.3% of cats in the western United States are infected with FeLV.
How does FeLV cause disease?
The Feline Leukemia Virus can cause bone marrow suppression. One of the functions of bone marrow is to produce the cells of the immune system that fight off infection. Therefore, …