/Happy Tails

Read heartwarming stories of cats who have come through our clinic, and the caregivers and volunteers who help to make our work possible.

Austin Cats Survive the Storm

The Austin Kitties How Spot, Frodo and Benedict survived the Polar Vortex of 2021 Guest blog by Roxanne Coyne In mid-February, we went through a stretch of at least six days where the temperature never got above freezing at our new home in Austin, Texas. One day it never got above 5F. The cats were freaked out from the moment the first white stuff fell. It snowed and snowed and snowed and it never thawed out.  It got colder and colder, and the snow turned to ice, and then more ice fell on top of the old ice and the entire [...]

2021-03-12T08:40:41-08:00 March 12th, 2021|Featured, Happy Tails|

Q&A with Visiting Vet, Caitlin Birky

There’s a new pair of hands fixing homeless cats at FixNation! Caitlin grew up in Santa Paula, studied Animal Science at Fresno State and earned a DVM at St. George's University in the Caribbean. She’s now completing her externships and we’re thrilled to have her to help out!   What made you decide to be a vet? Growing up I wasn’t always sure I wanted to be a vet, but I knew I wanted to work with animals, and I really wanted to work with marine mammals like dolphins, sea lions and seals. I was really involved in Future [...]

2021-02-08T13:10:31-08:00 February 8th, 2021|Featured, Happy Tails|

Kitten Season: Cricket’s Recovery

Cricket was found under a food truck last month and rushed to our clinic, limp and cold, with eyes full of discharge. Our vet assistant Sara took one look and immediately offered to foster her.   The tiny kitten was in rough shape, eight weeks old and weighing just 370 grams. She was anemic, dehydrated and fighting a URI. Sara took Cricket home to recover, where she soon perked up and started to overcome her fears.   Within two weeks, Cricket was eating completely on her own, had gained weight and was curling up on Sara’s lap to enjoy some [...]

2020-08-14T14:05:32-07:00 August 9th, 2020|Featured, Happy Tails|

The Story of a Super Trapper, Armineh

My name is Armineh and this tale begins when my work manager called me out to her Northridge home to help trap some ferals. I TNR’d a mama cat and found good homes for her four kittens. Mission accomplished! But as it turns out, that was only the beginning. The following week, she called to say there were three more kittens, so I went back. I happened to glance over her neighbor's wall and couldn’t believe my eyes. I saw five nursing cats and 20 (!!!) tiny kittens running around the backyard.   This is my trapper friend, Barbara. The [...]

2020-08-14T14:01:18-07:00 August 1st, 2020|Featured, Happy Tails|

The Sorting Cat: Which Mogwarts house does your cat belong to?

As any Harry Potter fan will know, cats are a witch or wizard’s best friend. From Hermione’s faithful cat Crookshanks, to Professor McGonagall’s tabby Animagus, there are many felines roaming the halls of Hogwarts. So it’s high time that our feline friends had their own school of witchcraft and wizardry! It’s March, and that means acceptance letters for Mogwarts will be delivered by owl to kitties across the world very soon, and then each new pupil will be sorted into a house. So which house do you think the Sorting Cat will pick for your pet? Are they a friendly [...]

2020-04-08T09:03:23-07:00 March 11th, 2020|Happy Tails|

Cats & Their Humans: A Love Story

With their purrs, their head butts, their slow blinks, most people with pets say their cats definitely love them. But do they really? There’s been a lot of research on that very question. One recent study has proven that cats form emotional bonds with their owners just as dogs do. Most cats and kittens showed a ‘secure attachment’ with humans and were just as interested in their guardians as their surroundings. But nothing proves that cats and humans love each other better than a story from real life. Like this one about a cat named Trixie, who lived back in [...]

2020-04-08T09:03:34-07:00 February 21st, 2020|Happy Tails|

How to Tell if a Cat Loves You

Cats are known for being loners, but are they really the aloof creatures they’re sometimes made out to be? Many cats form close bonds with their human. Here are a few ways cats can show they care: Purring is a rumbling sound a cat often makes when its relaxed and happy. Rolling around on the ground belly up means a cat trusts you. Bunting is when a cat rubs its cheeks or head on you. Kneading your lap is something a cat does when it feels content. Sleeping on your lap or bed is a sign that a cat feels [...]

2020-03-11T16:38:14-07:00 February 7th, 2020|Happy Tails|

Meet children’s book author Cynthia O’Brien!

We hope you enjoy this exclusive interview with author Cynthia O’Brien, who recently spoke to us about her children’s book, Noname the Feral Cat. (Noname is pronounced “Noh-naa-mee”.) We love this book and it’s so inspiring. Is it based on a true story? Yes, it is. My soul mate cat died suddenly in 2016 and I had a very hard time finding a reason to wake up in the morning. I felt guilt about how he died and was in tremendous pain. My cat was like a son to me since I do not have children. I had five years [...]

2020-03-11T16:36:06-07:00 August 30th, 2018|Happy Tails|

Photo Essay: Making the World a Better Place for Every Cat

Over the past 10 years, FixNation has significantly expanded its scope and services – and we plan to continue doing so in the decade ahead. We’re helping in more ways than ever, but our mission remains unchanged – we strive to make the world a better place for ALL our feline friends, especially those with no place to call home. Here are some of our latest initiatives:     Cat-A-Van FixNation not only offers free spay/neuter services for homeless cats, we also rescue tame cats that are doomed to be euthanized in local shelters. Our customized van transports these red-listed [...]

2020-03-11T16:36:15-07:00 December 10th, 2017|Happy Tails|

Alley cat turned house cat: Diesel

From feral to fabulous! This adorable kitty managed to find his way into the kitchen of a Los Angeles restaurant about 2 months ago. After the restaurant’s owner saw him cowering in terror behind a refrigerator, she started leaving out food, water and a litterbox for him. For three weeks, no one could catch so much as a glimpse of the fugitive feline, but the food was gone each day and he used the litter box. What to do? Noura needed help, so an experienced trapper named Ray brought over a trap and taught her what to do. Success! She [...]

2019-09-03T12:14:24-07:00 August 23rd, 2017|Happy Tails|