Mark your calendar to get your grub on with FixNation at the Veggie Grill on Thursday, May 17th from 5pm-11pm!

If you’re already a VG fan, then you know how delicious this evening will be.  If you’re a Veggie Grill virgin, prepare to fall in love!  Tell your friends, carpool, run, don’t walk!  We’ll see you there.

50% of all proceeds from sales will go directly to helping feral cats.

It was a beautiful spring day in L.A. as Dali Colorado and Liz Cava from FixNation traveled to Long Beach to speak to 24 very bright and energetic young children attending a week long humane education camp at the Los Angeles SPCA Humane Education Camp, at the P.D. Pitchford Companion Animal Village & Education Center.

Although we can’t consider feral cats pets or companion animals, people definitely bond with their backyard stray cats, even though they can’t pick them up or pet them.  We spoke to these kids about how a feral cat colony starts in the first place and the importance of spaying/neutering their own pet cats.  We talked about how cats often get abandoned outdoors, when people lose their jobs, their homes, and move away—leaving their formerly tame pet cats to fend for themselves outdoors.

We talked about how the kittens born to these abandoned former pet cats are born “wild”, and that it can be dangerous to try to pick them up or pet them.  Wild is wild.

We talked about the humane approach of trap-neuter-return (TNR), and how this approach sterilizes the cats, thereby cutting down on the number of homeless kittens born outdoors.

We showed iPhoto and video presentations with many pictures of all the FixNation ferals our trappers have emailed to us—both before being sterilized/vaccinated/eartipped—and after.  The iPhoto presentations have specific songs linked to them.  One of the songs used in the kitten presentation was Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire”.  The kids wound up stomping their feet in time to the song.  Dali was pleasantly surprised to see that many of the kids actually knew the words to this vintage Johnny Cash song and sang right along with him.  All the kids verbally ewww’d and awww’d over the kitten pics.

It was great to enlighten these bright kids about feral and stray cats.  We’re also thrilled to report that our presentation and talk was so well-received, we’ve been invited back!

If you’re interested in having FixNation educators present at your school, church, or community group, contact us today!

On Saturday, April 7th, FixNation had the opportunity to join the annual Blessing of the Animals ceremony at Olvera Street / La Placita in Downtown Los Angeles.

The ceremony is held annually, typically on Easter Sunday but also the Saturday prior, and has been a tradition since 1930.  On this beautiful and sunny Saturday, over 2000 people crowded the streets surrounding the Church and Plaza at Olvera Street to celebrate their animals and get them blessed by Cardinal Roger Mahony. This blessing, some believe, will bring their animal’s good health throughout the year.

Prior to the Blessing Ceremony, a procession traveled down Los Angeles Street and around Olvera Plaza, lead by a cow, decorated in flowers. It is said that this cow leads the procession because it is she that brings most to humanity.  A bazaar of animals followed her, including various farm animals, snakes, lizards, birds, dogs, cats and even insects!  (Be sure to check out event photos, below.)

In the main plaza area, FixNation had an outreach table alongside other local animal welfare organizations. We spent the day talking with festival goers about our mission and the importance of spay and neuter and TNR. It was a fun day had by all!

Join FixNation in spreading the word at fun, community events like the Blessing of the Animals.  Email volunteer@fixnation.org to get started!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Great wine, food, music, and the company of passionate animal lovers and advocates — what more could you ask for on a Tuesday night!

FixNation. Committed to Cats. It Starts with One!

We have cancelled extended hours on Thursday (until 6pm), due to lack of demand.  We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Also note that FixNation will be closed on Monday, February 20th in observance of President’s Day.  We will return on Tuesday, February 21st with normal clinic hours.

We are happy to announce that we will begin offering low-cost vaccine and testing clinics again in February, this time joining forces with 1st Care Veterinary Services.  Check the new calendar for details on this and other exciting upcoming events.

FixNation is thrilled to be a part of this premiere episode where we spay the former feral, Larry.  Yes, we spayed Larry, who is a girl!

Check out this clip below, to get a taste of this kitty’s troubles, but watch the show to get the full story.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Dear FixNation Friend,

Homeless cats need your help! You may be wondering why your support is so urgently needed at this time. It’s simple: You can help end the suffering.

Right now, there are more than a million homeless cats and kittens living in Los Angeles, and 40,000 cats are killed in our city and county shelters each year.

FixNation is a nonprofit organization that fixes homeless cats as part of a Trap-Neuter-Return program or “TNR” for short. TNR means cats are fixed so they cannot breed and are then returned to live out their lives on the streets. It’s not ideal, but it’s the best we can do. If we do nothing, their numbers will grow and the killing will continue.

Our mission is to end this cycle of suffering by providing free spay/neuter surgery and basic medical care for L.A.’s stray and feral cats. Our clinic is the first of its kind in the nation, operating full-time and providing free services for homeless cats. We fix more than 17,000 cats each year. It costs $1.5M annually to deliver these services to cats in need.

You’ve shown how much you care about homeless cats. You don’t like any more than we do that innocent cats die every day in L.A. shelters. So we’re reaching out to you. Your gift will help reduce the number of homeless cats in Los Angeles, and in turn save cats’ lives.

Please make a generous gift to FixNation today. Your donation, no matter the size, will help us maintain our full-time veterinary clinic to help homeless cats. Please donate today.

Thank you, we appreciate all you do for the animals.

Sincerely,

DEADLINE IS DECEMBER 31.

Every donation made until December, 31, will be matched by PetSmart Charities! If ever there was a time for you to help homeless cats of LA, it is now!

Your heartfelt donations to spay/neuter homeless cats in LA go twice as far when you donate now, thanks to PetSmart Charities who will match whatever you donate, dollar for dollar!

PetSmart Charities has challenged FixNation to raise $51k in new donations before the end of this year – December 31, 2011! For every dollar we raise from a new donor, PetSmart will match it!

Please help us meet this challenge by sharing this fundraiser with your friends and families! We’re asking everyone who cares about LA’s cats to support FixNation by making a donation today!

It’s so easy!

Your donation of $10, becomes $20!
Your donation of $25, becomes $50!
Your donation of $100, becomes $200!

Thank you for joining FixNation in helping LA’s homeless cats!

After you’ve made your donation, consider how you can inspire others!

But you can do more than double your donation with Petsmart’s Matching Gift!  You can help raise MORE funds by hosting your own fundraiser on Crowdrise.  Make this your challenge too!  

Start YOUR campaign to help homeless cat!

Do you need a new coffee mug or sweater?  Make gift-giving count this year by giving a gift to homeless cats.  Ask your friends and family to contribute to your campaign.

The best gift of all will be knowing that you helped save lives!

THANKS, EVERYONE, FOR HELPING MAKE COOL CATS FOR FIXNATION AT THE G2 GALLERY FEATURING THE CARL VERHEYEN BAND ON FRIDAY, AUGUST 19, 2011 SUCH A SUCCESSFUL AND MEMORABLE EXPERIENCE!

Community spirit, art, music, cats and charity all came together at the wonderful G2 Gallery Friday night August 19, where everyone joined hands to support FixNation, and “get down” with the Carl Verheyen Band, performing as the “Cool Cats”.

Our hosts, Susan and Dan Gottlieb, the founders and owners of the G2 Gallery, deserve special thanks for offering up their unique venue and all it embodies on a night like this. And, for leaving everyone in awe, we also thank our star attraction, Carl Verheyen and his band mates, Dave Marotta and Walfredo Reyes, Jr., the talented, merry troupe who simply dazzled those in attendance with their special brand of musical offerings.

Carl Verheyen Band on-stage at event: Carl Verheyen (Guitar), Walfredo Reyes, Jr. (Drums) and Dave Marotta (Bass)

We would also like to thank and acknowledge the contributions of all those who purchased tickets, the donors who purchased tickets for complimentary invitation purposes, everyone who contributed to what became a terrific array of auction items, the G2 staff who worked so hard on putting the event together, the FixNation volunteers and staff who did so much to make things easy and efficient at the event, and all of those who came after what, for most, was a busy work day.

The venue’s size limited attendance to 100 and was a sold out event. Downstairs, the room was elegantly laid out to accommodate a buffet table of catered food items, a wine and beverage bar, a display of all the silent auction items, the check-in and ticket distribution table, and a table offering Carl’s CDs and DVDs for sale. Upstairs, in the main Gallery room, a stage was set up before rows of chairs to accommodate all the guests.

Here are a few photos from the event:

Event Special Mention

Many of the guests that came to the event did so thanks to the generosity of two major donors, grateful for the opportunity to help and to accept our public thanks. These are:

The Dax Foundation, and its principal, Dave Weisman, a visionary entrepreneur and philanthropist, specifically wanted to enable supporters of ours to attend and support the valuable mission of FixNation, a cause near and dear to his heart. For more on Dax Foundation and its unique role in helping make our world a better place, please visit www.daxfoundation.org.