Transcriber: Eunice Tan Reviewer: Tanya Cushman
Eighty million.
That is the number of feral cats currently living on America's streets.
There are over 60,000 in this city alone.
Ivan here was found on the steps of this university.
And campuses like this one are seeing an influx of these animals,
as are industrial parks, apartment complexes, and landfills.
Stray cats are everywhere.
See, Ivan is part of a human-made problem.
Starting in the 1600s,
cats were actually brought to North America by colonists.
Some of these animals escaped,
and left unchecked, their populations grew out of control.
In just seven years,
one unspayed female cat and her offspring
can produce 370,000 kittens.
(Laughs)
That's almost four football stadiums
filled with cats.
And they need to eat.
Feral cats or those let out by their owners
annually kill more native animals
than car collisions and pesticides combined.
That's an estimated 4 billion birds and 22 billion mammals.
It's time we did something about it.
But wait, isn't that what animal shelters are for?
The truth is 70% of cats entering traditional shelters are euthanized.
See, there's a difference between feral and domestic cats.
Domestic cats are comfortable with human interaction;
feral cats are wild animals.
And most shelters just don't have the resources
to indefinitely house unadoptable feral cats.
So they turn to euthanasia
as an efficient form of population control.
Now, I'm not here to demonize shelters.
They are really doing the best that they can with limited resources
and millions of cats coming through their doors.
And I'm not here to demonize cats either;
this isn't their fault.
I'm here to present a humane solution.
And one part of that solution involves a different approach to cat shelters:
one without cages.
A smaller, more intimate space,
where cats have the freedom to roam around
and interact with other cats
or not.
They can hide if they're overwhelmed or snuggle in someone's lap -
all on their own terms.
And when we allow cats to be themselves in a stress-free environment,
something exciting happens.
They're able to show their personalities,
feel comfortable socializing with other cats and humans.
This historically frightening experience becomes not only comfortable,
but it promotes connection.
If cats are given the opportunity to build relationships,
adoptions happen quickly.
And that's why I opened Felius Cat Café,
a nonprofit coffee shop and cat rescue.
It's based on a popular Japanese concept,
and cat cafés are actually popping up across the U.S.,
and it's easy to see why.
At Felius, we take an innovative approach
to shelter design.
Our cats have 24-7 access to a climbing wall,
cozy beds, endless toys.
By providing coffee, tea, and snacks,
our human guests actually want to hang around.
They can pay a small fee to physically interact with the cats,
a fee that goes back into their care and bedding,
or they can watch the cats play
directly from our café through a viewing window -
perfect for people who are allergic but still want to support our cause.
Not only did guests spend over 9,000 hours socializing our cats last year,
they also became part of our story,
helping to promote responsible pet ownership
through spaying, neutering, and keeping domestic cats indoors.
But adoptions are only solving part of the problem.
We are giving domestic cats homes,
but this doesn't address the feral cat population.
Instead of ignoring the issue,
Felius is actually taking a different approach.
We promote a practice called "trap-neuter-vaccinate-return,"
or TNVR.
This includes trapping, spaying, neutering, vaccinating,
and ear-tipping feral cats -
painlessly removing the top part of their left ear,
signaling that this animal's already been TNVR'd.
Now, the goal of this practice
is to re-release feral cats back where they were captured,
no longer able to reproduce
and now allowing their population
to humanely and naturally decline over time,
improving their quality of life,
reducing the spread of disease,
and preventing countless litters of unwanted kittens.
And when fewer cats are entering the system,
shelters can evolve and innovate,
and we can save more cats.
Now, I don't expect you guys to leave here today
and become full-time cat rescuers,
but I do hope that the next time you see a feral cat,
you won't ignore it.
Take a minute.
See if it's collared or ear-tipped.
If it doesn't have identification,
pick up the phone.
Call a no-kill shelter or rescue, like Felius,
who can help with adoption or TNVR.
Cats like Ivan will be forever grateful.
Thank you.
(Applause)