FixNation's Day of the Dead Altar Offers Rare Opportunity to Honor Departed Felines

LOS ANGELES - Oct. 17, 2016 - PRLog -- FixNation, an award-winning Los Angeles-based nonprofit that provides free spay/neuter surgeries to homeless cats, will make its seventh appearance at the annual Dia de los Muertos celebration at Hollywood Forever Cemetery from noon to midnight on October 29. The organization will display a cat-themed memorial altar at the perennially popular event, which draws tens of thousands of visitors each year.

"The owners of Hollywood Forever came to us years ago to spay and neuter all the community cats living on the cemetery grounds," said Karn Myers, FixNation co-founder and a longtime advocate for the city's homeless cat population. "Thanks to their generosity, we're able to give animal lovers a chance to honor the memories of cats that have been an important part of their lives."

For the first time this year, the FixNation altar will feature memorial prayer ribbons. Festival-goers can write the name of their cat and a heartfelt message on a length of ribbon and tie it onto a special display. Prayer ribbons are a centuries-old tradition in different parts of the world; as the ribbons flutter in the breeze, the prayers written on them are symbolically lifted to the heavens. After the event, the prayer ribbons will be blessed and burned in a private ceremony attended by FixNation staff and supporters.

"We'll have ribbons in a rainbow of bright colors for people who want to memorialize their pet cats, as well as teal-colored ribbons that will be reserved especially for community cats," said Myers. "There are an estimated one million homeless cats living in Los Angeles, and we wanted to provide a way to remember and honor them, too."

As Myers explained, an untold number of city residents feed and look after community cats, many of whom often disappear and are never seen again. "This is a wonderful opportunity for these caregivers to express their sense of loss in a very visual and inspiring way. Homeless cats, whether they're ferals or former pets who were abandoned or became lost, deserve to be celebrated just as much as pet cats."

The FixNation altar will incorporate a number of traditional Dia de los Muertos elements, including elements representing earth, wind, fire and water, as well as incense, marigolds and elaborately decorated skull masks and figurines. Also on display will be dozens of photos of felines—beloved pets as well as homeless "community cats"—along with bowls of cat food, cat toys and other cat-inspired items.

The altar—which will be created by members of the clinic's staff, volunteers and students from California State University, Northridge—can be visited from noon to midnight the day of the Dia de los Muertos event. More information about the event can be found at www.ladayofthedead.com.

About FixNation
FixNation is an award-winning Los Angeles-based nonprofit organization that provides Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) programs for homeless cats. The organization provides a free full-time spay/neuter clinic for homeless cats as well as affordable spay/neuter services for pet cats. FixNation has sterilized more than 135,000 cats to date. For more information, visit www.fixnation.org.