About this episode

Pallavi Kamath discusses The Feline Foundation's innovative strategies for managing Mumbai's community cat population.

"The more I work in this field, the more there is to learn — and there's multiple strategies that you have to implement." This episode is sponsored-in-part by Maddie's Fund , OcuTrap , and Feline Infectious Disease Summit 2026 . Pallavi Kamath grew up fostering kittens in Mumbai, studied animal science at UC Davis, earned a master's in animal public policy, and returned home to lead The Feline Foundation — an NGO she describes as the first in Maharashtra to systematically address the needs of community cats. With an estimated one million cats on Mumbai's streets and no existing population data to work from, the Foundation built its entire approach around a Logical Framework Matrix: a structured problem tree that mapped every welfare challenge and converted each into a program goal, giving the organization three focused pillars — population management, healthcare, and community involvement. On the ground, that means zone-by-zone sterilization across Andheri West, Mumbai's largest suburb. The Foundation divides the area into zones, conducts exhaustive street-by-street cat censuses, organizes local feeders into "carer collectives," and sets monthly TNR targets before returning to…

People in this episode

Guest: Pallavi Kamath

Topics covered

• community cats
• animal welfare
• population management
• TNR
• Mumbai

Sponsors

Maddie's Fund, OcuTrap, Feline Infectious Disease Summit 2026

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: The Feline Foundation

Places: Mumbai, Andheri West, Maharashtra, India

More episodes of The Community Cats Podcast

• Ep 674: From One Alley Cat to 700 Spay/Neuter Surgeries a Year with Debra Magaldi, Director of CatPAWS · July 21, 2026 · 23 min
• Ep 673: The 42-Point Gap Between Loving Your Cat and Getting It to the Vet with Gina Fortunato, Executive Director of the CATalyst Council with Kristin Wuhrman · July 14, 2026 · 30 min
• Ep 671: Saving the African Wildcat: The Race Against Hybridization in South Africa with Louise Holton, President & Founder, and Debbie Holzer, Development & Fundraising Manager, Alley Cat Rescue · June 30, 2026 · 31 min
• Ep 670: Bridging the Gap Between Vets and Community Cat Caregivers with Dr. Kevin Lynch, DVM, Veterinarian, Author, and Founder of The Moriches Hospital for Animals · June 23, 2026 · 28 min
• Ep 669: 10 Years of Community Cats Podcast: A Conversation with Stacy, Kristen, and Mike · June 16, 2026 · 41 min
• Ep 668: City Kitties: Inside New York's Bodega Cat Movement, with Dan Rimada, Founder of Bodega Cats of New York and Co-Founder of Cats About Town Tours · June 9, 2026 · 27 min

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the The Community Cats Podcast podcast page.