Welcome to our inaugural edition of the IndyFeral Newsletter.  This will be a quarterly publication designed to keep you up to date on IndyFeral news.  We decided not to name the newsletter and let you, our subscribers, submit names and for our panel to choose a winner. 

Please send your entries no later than March 1st.

About IndyFeral

Dear Feral Friends,

IndyFeral Inc. was established as a means of changing the way stray and feral (wild) cats have been traditionally viewed and dealt with in our community.  We live in a culture where, for some, the value of an animal's life has no strong meaning of its own-only a contingent one based on his or her use to people.  Some people consider stray/feral cats as pests, dangerous or a nuisance and as a result, think it is acceptable to harm them, ignore them by "letting nature take its course" or kill them.  Some believe that feral cats lead short, miserable lives and should be killed for their own good to protect them from any guture hardship they may suffer.  IndyFeral holds these views as cruel, inhumane and unacceptable.

Consider this, the cats did not create the problem!  Every feral cat is the end result of irresponsible pet owners who allowed their cat to roam freely and failed to spay and neuter their cats.  As a "community" we have an ethical responsibility to address the problem "we" created.

TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return) should be viewed as an "interim solution."  TNR is not an endorsement for abandoning animals.  On the contrary, IndyFeral believes that every cat should have a caring and loving home.  TNR is an integral part of reaching a day when there are no more homeless pets.

In keeping with our mission, IndyFeral believes that all living creatures including feral and stray cats have intrinsic value.  They deserve compassion, care and protection for their entire lives.  All living creatures have a basic instinct to live and have the best life they can.  Acting as their advocate or "voice," IndyFeral will strive to improve their lives and promote ideals that are more reflective of a caring and humane community.

Lisa Tudor
President
IndyFeral Inc.

Although we can't claim credit for the name, our Cat Captain program is proving very successful.  Each Cat Captain (an experienced and active volunteer in their own right) has accepted a chunk of Marion County for their area of responsibility.  Provided with resources and educational materials, they help caregivers of feral cat colonies access the services necessary to successfully manage their colonies.  This management includes shelter, food, reduced-cost spay/neuter & vaccination services, and systems for tracking the members of their colony.

As you can expect, it's not an easy job.  But each Cat Captain is also given the names of volunteers within their area who are willing to help them accomplish their mission.  Only through developing a network of volunteers can the Cat Captains hope to have an impact on the stray and feral population.

The Cat Captains also have the support of each other and the full resources of IndyFeral to help them achieve the goal of putting an end to the needless suffering and death of so many stray and feral cats.  However, ultimately it's the support of the community that will solve the animal overpopulation problem.

The IndyFeral board would like to send a sincere thanks to all of you who responded to our recent mailing asking for donations and those that give throughout the year.  Through your generous donations, IndyFeral and its volunteers can continue our work providing spay-neuter, medical services, housing, food and care to stray and feral cats. 

This year we have a goal of 2,500 surgeries!  In 2003 we accomplished 1,554 surgeries so we appreciate your support in helping us reach our goal.

Our new partnership with I-CAN or Indiana Companion Animal Network will be helping us reach this goal for 2004.  I-CAN operates a new low-cost feline spay/neuter clinic and works diligently to reduce the terribly high number of feral cats in Central Indiana.  Our high-volume Spay Days and Feral Fridays at I-CAN make this goal obtainable.  For more information about I-CAN, visit their website at www.spayneuter.net/.

Spring will be here shortly, but you may be battling the elements for a few more weeks yet.  Given the coldness of this winter and the constant sub-freezing temperatures, the problem of water freezing has become a pressing one for feral cat caretakers.  The cats need water, especially when dry food is being used more due to wet food also freezing.

The ideal solution, though only plausible in secure circumstances, is an electrically heated water bowl.  The water will evaporate relatively quickly, so the bowl needs to be filled with a gallon of water in order to last 24 hours.  The bowl also can be used for wet food, though it will quickly dry the food up.

A 5-quart dish with 6 foot protected cord is available for $24 from KV Vet Supply (item #86041) www.kvvet.com or call 1-800-423-8211.  Ask about their other heated bowls.

The Solar Sipper is a good alternative to electric and can be purchased through the Happy Bird Corporation.  Using solar heat, it keeps the warm enought to keep from freezing.  However, it's only good at 18 degrees and above but that is an improvement.  The link: http://world.std.com/~sippers/animalsipper_dlx.html

Happy Bird Corporation can be reached by telephone at 781-899-7804.

Please do not put water in the cats' shelter, if you are using one.  Cats can get sick in winter from getting wet and then not having any warm, dry place to go.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with a microchip, it is a small chip that contains a number that is inserted just under your pet's skin.  When you register your animal with the national organization, they store your name, address and phone number. Animals that are accidentally separated from their owners are often reunited when a compassionate person rescues a stray animal and takes it to their local vet clinic and find that it has a microchip. Shelters also scan animals when they receive them.

At our last Spay Day on November 9th, to our surprise, we came across a white tomcat with a microchip!  This cat originally lived with his owners at Scandia apartments near Castleton on Allisonville Road.  It had been five months since the family had seen him and they had no idea he was part of a colony at the 6100 block of N. Emerson.  Needless to say, his owners were quite surprised and grateful to hear that a caretaker from IndyFeral brought him into our Spay Day where we detected the chip.  After his long adventurous journey, he finally made it home safely.

February 22nd - Spay Day (Sponsored by SNSI)

February 25th - National Spay Day

April 24th - Earth Day
We are holding a booth at this year's Earth Day event.  If you are interested in volunteering to man the booth for a couple of hours, please contact Lisa.

May - Spring Cleaning??  We will be holding our annual IndyFeral yard sale in May so don't throw it away!  Give it to us!  We'll turn you undesirables into money for IndyFeral.  Contact Amelda.

June - Watch for details about our upcoming benefit concert and dinner in June hosted by Aesop's Tables located in downtown Indianapolis on Mass Ave.  Dine on Mediterranean food while listening to Jennie DeVoe's wonderful voice as she entertains you with acoustical music.  You can check out Jennie's website at www.jdevoe.com  Date TBA.

2,278 - Number of ferals fixed by IndyFeral since 2002

464 - Number of managed colonies