Lake Wildwood Ad Hoc Feral Cat TNR Committee

11/03/2023

I saw this link on Safe House Animal Rescue League's page. Anyone else think this would be a great project? It might make it a little easier to trap and.transport in the Spring.
https://www.facebook.com/100064374354884/posts/720170043472134/?mibextid=Nif5oz

Here’s a sneak peek! The Boy Scouts and their parents are hard at work making shelter totes for our community cats! More soon on this awesome project!

10/17/2023

The best TNR advice I have to give: NEVER WAIT‼️

🐾 You don't need to wait to "build trust".
🐾 And you don't have to wait for fear of losing it.

Do what's best and what's right for the animal. Their health and safety are dependent on you! Trust that the TNR folks guiding you are telling you the correct things based off of their years of experience. 😻❤

Thank you for helping cats in your community!
*Photo credit: Shawn Long

05/01/2023

*** I appreciate all the shares. Street Cat to Sweet Cat Gatsby is doing well and looking for his furrrever home.

I am sure at some point this was someone's adorable FREE KITTEN for "DONATION". As soon as he outgrew his cuteness or began spraying, because that is what un-neutered male cats do they put him outside.

Fast forward a few years. He is scared. He is untrusting of cats and humans alike. He is wounded both physically and mentally. He is anemic and flea ridden. He has earmites and intestinal worms. He is FIV positive from repeat and relentless attacks from other male cats.

It will take several months to get him where he needs to be to be able to be adopted into a caring home.

THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS TO YOUR FREE KITTENS.

Please chose RESPONSIBLE ADOPTION.

Rescuers are very tired.

04/29/2023

This is why we do it This obviously relaxed kitty once lived outdoors at Lake Wildwood. Volunteers trapped her, cared for her, transported her and had her spayed. And while we were doing all that, we noticed what a friendly girl she seemed to want to be.
After her surgery, she was taken to Safe House Animal Rescue League for more care and socialization. Soon she was put up for adoption and found love in her "furever" home. Sweet Dreams little "Cricket."

04/25/2023

This coming Saturday, April 29th we have 7 spots open for spay/neuter appointments. Please contact me here if you have ferals in your area. Volunteers will trap, transport, care for and return those kitties at no cost to you.
Help our Lake Wildwood Ferals live healthier lives.

04/23/2023

04/23/2023

The Feral Cats of Lake Wildwood need your help! Please volunteer today for a better tomorrow for them all!

04/22/2023

Here’s why kittens are a challenge for animal shelters:

KITTEN CARE REQUIRES SPECIALIZED KNOWLEDGE. Many shelter staff have no experience or training in pediatric care for kittens. Whether it’s kennel staff that don’t know how to bottle feed, or a medical team that doesn’t have experience treating neonatal kittens, most of the time a shelter will not know how to help unless they’ve made neonatal training a priority. Additionally, many shelters don’t have the correct supplies on hand to care for young kittens.

KITTENS ARE TIME-INTENSIVE. The average US shelter doesn’t have the staffing to provide overnight care, which means that any unweaned kitten cannot survive even 24 hours in their facility. Unless a foster home is available, they are typically euthanized before close of business on the day they are brought in.

UNDERAGE KITTENS TAKE UP MUCH-NEEDED CAGE SPACE. Most shelters need every open cage they can get in order to continue to take in cats in need. Because kittens can’t be adopted until they are old enough to spay at 8 weeks old, any kitten younger than that will take up cage space for several weeks as they sit and wait to be old enough for adoption. For many shelters, this presents a space problem.

KITTENS DON'T DO WELL IN A SHELTER SETTING. Even if shelters do attempt to save kittens, they often experience health problems in a shelter setting due to their compromised immune systems. A shelter is simply not a safe place for a kitten because they are so susceptible to potential disease transmission. While kittens can do well in a dedicated kitten nursery, most shelters don’t have the space to quarantine kittens in this way.

*Text from kittenlady.org

How can YOU help? 💥Spay and Neuter 💥

04/19/2023

It's National Cat Lady Day! "Cat ladies" are the backbone of the cat protection movement on every level, and we're grateful for each and every one of you! Here's to the compassionate women who care and speak out for cats 🎉🐱❤️

04/17/2023

40 cats since March 23!!

04/17/2023

Yesterday, 6 male ferals were transported by a volunteer to Interglobe Sire in Pontiac, Il. Several hours later, they were returned to Lake Wildwood by the same volunteer after they had been neutered, ear-tipped and vaccinated.
Still a little unsteady from the anesthesia used during their surgeries, Buddy 1, Buddy 2, Diablo, Puma, PeeWee and Tussle were given water and a light meal. Their traps were cleaned and fresh paper was put down. If they had looked like they had done well with their light meal and showed an interest, more food was offered.
Buddy 1 won a membership in the "Clean Plate Club," as he happily consumed 2 more small servings. After that, it was lights out.
This morning, everyone was alert. Their traps were cleaned, breakfast was served and caregivers arrived to take the boys back to their original locations. Once back to where they had been captured, they were released.
All of us involved in this program are grateful to Safe House Animal Rescue League, Interglobe Sire Services, and our.volunteers for their contributions.
And a huge THANK YOU! goes out to our generous donors, without whom none of this would be possible.

04/11/2023

For anyone in Lake Wildwood that has feral cats on or near your property, please let the committee know. We have 20 spots for spay/neuter appts.
You may contact Ellen at the office 309-463-2047 ext 1014 or pm me on Facebook.
We will do the work of trapping, caring for, and transporting the ferals to and from the appointments. There is no cost for you for this.

04/04/2023

Kitten season will be here soon!

04/03/2023

On March 21, the first nine feral cats from Lake Wildwood were transported to Animal Protective League in Springfield, Il. All 9 were sexually mature females. They were from the Loganberry area.
On the following Friday, volunteers transported 10 more ferals to Interglobe Sire in Pontiac IL. In this group, 7 were male, 3 were female, all breeding age. These came from the Loganberry, Spring Mill CT. and Tanglewood areas
An additional 14 cats trapped at Lake Wildwood were transported to Interglobe. This time 3 males and the remaining, females. This group's locations were wider spread. They were from Brookside, Oak Crest, Tanglewood and Lake Wildwood Dr. near the dam.
Numbers received from the attending Veterinarians estimated that the 33 cats in these groups could have resulted in 140 or more kittens.
All of these cats were trapped, spayed/neutered, vaccinated and cared for by volunteers who saw the need and answered the call.
Now we are on the brink of kitten season and we must adjust our practices to allow for kittens and their mothers to be safely and humanely cared for.

03/29/2023

And now...
Volunteers are setting up and baiting traps to allow us to transport 15 more cats to Pontiac, Il. There, the kind-hearted and hard working crew at Interglobe Sire will care for, spay/neuter, vaccinate and ear tip our feral cats.
Once their procedures are completed, they will be returned to Lake Wildwood where they will rest and recover overnight at "La Maison des Chats" (The Cat House) before release back to their home turf the following day.

03/29/2023

https://villageoftiskilwa.org/village-of-tiskilwa-feral-cat-tnr-program/?fbclid=IwAR1YfJD9nNt9aE9W26nufDTRHjkk-9IUFKPIv5IQwJca-EybGiH5wEitdJg

Tiskilwa partnered with Safe House Animal Rescue League to start a Trap, Neuter, Release (TNR) program at the beginning of… Read More

03/28/2023

Thank y😽u to our
Pawsitvely Wonderful
Donors!

03/26/2023

On Friday, March 24, 10 more Lake Wildwood Ferals were transported to Interglobe Sire in Pontiac, Illinois. Volunteers brought them back home to recover yesterday afternoon and today they were returned to their caregivers and colonies,
Again, we have Safe House Rescue League to thank for allowing us to use some of the spots that they had reserved for spay/neuter appointments.
And of course, none of this would be possible without the support of the Lake Wildwood Board of Directors and our wonderful donors.
If you would like to donate to this ongoing effort, please contact Ellen at the Lake Wildwood Association office, 309-463-2047 ext. 1014. Personal checks should be made out to Lake Wildwood Association with Feral Cats on the memo line. Ellen can also receive donations via credit card.

03/25/2023

This is what we're talking about. In the last week, we spayed/neutered 19 cats. Please help us do more!

03/22/2023

Punkin and Tippie

03/22/2023

03/22/2023

Cricket, Caramel, Punkin, Callie, Snickers. Tiger Lily, Dali, Raffe, and Tippie are all back safely after being spayed by the Animal Protection League with the help of Safe House Pet Rescue League for transport. Safe House was so kind to our new program and generously covered all of our ladies' medical expenses.
Because Cricket is so friendly, she will be fostered for a bit at Safe House Pet rescue and then be available for adoption.

03/21/2023

Nine Lake Wildwood kitties are in there!

Volunteers, Diane and Lorie, are on their way for our March spay/neuter trip! They do this every month in addition to all their rescue “duties”. There are 25 cats that are fortunate to be able to be spayed/neutered and receive their vaccinations! There are 3 rescues and 22 ferals including Village of Tiskilwa 19 through 25, and 8 from Lake Wildwood who is just beginning their formal TNR program to control their community cats the humane way!! Also in there are the results of a lot of teamwork and stress to pull it together; no one said it was easy! It’s like herding cats! Special thanks to Animal Protective League for providing us with this opportunity each month. All of us, together, make a huge impact.

03/20/2023

Poor Callie!
Don't worry baby girl. we'll help you to feel better when you go to see the doctor tomorrow😿

03/20/2023

More kitties!
Caramel
"Who's in charge here? I demand to see the manager!" It's so hard to get good help these days!"

03/20/2023

WONDERFUL NEWS!
Since the day we started thinking about how we could help the feral cat colonies at Lake Wildwood, we have been reaching out to different organizations and individuals for information and advice. One group in particular answered our call and gave us advice, equipment recommendations, and encouragement. Safe House Pet Rescue League has given freely of their time and expertise.
They recently contacted us to let us know that they had some open spots for a previously scheduled spay/neuter clinic. We enthusiastically took them up on their offer.
Today, Teryl Holocher helped me to trap 4 lovely females and Tuesday morning they will be transported for their surgeries.
After confirming the capture with the coordinator at Safe House, I was told that our costs would be covered for these four by their organization.
We are so grateful to be recognized by this amazing group and the opportunity to partner with their program.
Please like and follow them on their page.
I'll be posting photos of our furry ladies tomorrow and will keep you updated as to their progress.