Volunteer Thanksgiving Luncheon Sly`s Wall of Honor

Newsletter of the Dane County Friends of Ferals (DCFoF)
O
Vol. IV No. 3 Sept. 2009
Volunteer Thanksgiving Luncheon
n September 13th the DCFoF Board of Directors hosted the 2nd annual Volunteer Appreciation Lunch. DCFoF is able to carry out its
mission only because we have wonderful volunteers!
85 individuals and families provide daily care at Sly’s
Place, provide foster homes for our cats and kittens,
medicate our sick and injured cats at Sly’s, run our
weekly adoption fairs at Mad Cat, deliver cats to their
forever homes, answer our phone lines and assist the
public with TNR. 15 volunteers earned their 3 year
DCFoF service award pin, 4 volunteers earned their 5
year pin, and 1 volunteer earned her 7 year pin.
Sly’s Wall of Honor
3 year awards (l to r) Trish McWilliams,
Ben Brabender, Amy Wiltsius, Heidi Beyer,
Kelly Sorenson
We are thrilled to announce the successful completion
of our pledge drive for all of the rooms at Sly’s! This
coincides with celebrating our first year in our new shelter.
These are our generous donors:
5 year awards (l to r) Charisma Nevel &
Mary Norton
DCFoF 627 Post Rd, Madison WI 53713 www.daneferals.org 467.4067
J
Volunteer Spotlight
oe and Ginger Cissell began volunteering at
Sly’s Place this May. They do the morning Quick
Clean for all the cats at Sly’s Mondays and
Tuesdays, which includes making sure all the cats
have a fresh bowl of water and food, and cleaning up
any litter box accidents. Of course, Joe and Ginger
wind up talking to all the cats, and, they say that
they spend a lot of time at home talking about Sly’s
cats. Joe says: “This is how we get our ‘cat fix.’”
Currently they do not have a cat of their own, since
the loss of their beloved Pokey a diabetic who, with
their loving care, lived to be 17. Several cats at Sly’s
have tugged at their heart, but these snowbirds enjoy
taking a couple of weeks in spring and fall to see the
countryside on their way to and from Palm Coast,
Florida. Their reporting concerns about cats has been
very helpful. In Florida, Joe plays with a golf league
twice a week. Joe has been known to duct tape carpet
around his knees to protect against rattle snakes
biting him when he is chain sawing some of the thick
Florida vegetation. This retired couple have rehabbed
many rural properties over the years while raising
their 2 children.
So, it is time for
these snowbirds to
migrate south, but
they are promising
to be back on duty
with us in May.
Thank you, Joe and
Ginger!
Dentistry for Member’s Cats
Thanks to a very generous dental equipment gift from
Karen Walsh and Jim Berbee, cats in our program
now receive their dental cleaning and extractions
at Sly’s Place. Often ferals enter our program with
a mouth of misery. We are delighted to be able to
provide this restorative dental care before cats are
adopted.
We are announcing that these professional dental
services are now available to cats belonging to our
members and volunteers, at a price below the average
professional fee in our community. To ask questions,
and to make an appointment, please call Dr. Karen
Bryant at 843-3627.
2009 Cat Intake and Adoptions
by Alison Colby
We still get the majority of our cats from the public each
month. Intake is based on the number of adoptions that
we have, which then opens up space in a foster home, the
amount of cage space at Sly's, and whether we have the
veterinary and financial resources to care for the number of
cats in the program.
2009 # Public Intake # Intake from DCHS January
February
March April
May June
July
August 23 23 12 22 30 49 39 16 7
0
8
10
16
9
10
9
These are the numbers of indoor and outdoor adoptions
from January 2009- August 2009. Many of those that do go
to indoor homes start out as feral or semi feral. We never
seem to have enough outdoor homes, however recently we
have had so many cats become friendly in the well room
that right now we have more tame cats needing homes.
Month Indoor Adoption Outdoor Adoption
January February March April May June July August 27 13 14 22 21 32 17 27 12
5
11
7
15
2
10
12
Please send your email address to the editor
so that we can save printing and postage on
future newsletters. Thank you!
Snips & Tips is the quarterly publication
of DCFoF. Editor Kathleen Kane
email: kmkbroker@aol.com
Board of Directors
Kathleen Kane, President
Alison Colby, Vice President
Robin Degolier, Treasurer
Teri Barr
Michelle Lonergan
Heidi Beyer
Charisma Nevel
Angela Cady Freedman Bette Pankonien
Winter Is Coming!
Building Shelter for Outdoor Ferals
by Dan Johnson
EASY TO BUILD INSULATED CAT SHELTER
1.
Obtain a Styrofoam or other insulated box or container.
We have had the best luck finding such containers at medical
research facilities, hospitals/clinics, university laboratories and
other places that need to transport or store easily degradable
substances such as medicine, enzymes or tissue.
1
2.
The box we used for this manual is 21” x 21” x 21” and
can easily accommodate two adult cats.
3.
Cut two holes 3.5” inches up from the bottom of the box
and 4.5” in diameter. The holes should be located in opposite
corners of the shelter for entrance and egress. (photo 1)
by Dan Johnson
4.
Slit an 8” x 8” piece of plastic up the middle and duct
tape it over each hole. This will allow the cats entry but keep
out wind. (photo 2)
2
5.
Place enough marsh hay or straw in the box to cover the
floor of the shelter. Cut a piece of Styrofoam or sheet insulation so that it fits into the bottom of the box to form a floor.
Drill several small holes in the floor for drainage. (photos 3, 4)
6.
Situate the shelter in a south facing location, protected
from the rain and snow, and place a couple of bricks or other
heavy objects on it to keep it stabilized. (photo 5)
3
4
5
DCFoF Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser
Meatless option available
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Check Out Dane County Friends Of Ferals Adoptable
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A partnership with Dane County Humane Society
and the Maddies Fund.
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