On this week's episode, Tabitha talks to “The Trap King”, Sterling Davis, about, how randomly volunteering at a shelter to kill some time while he was on tour resulted into him leaving his rap career to follow his new passion of TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return) and cats. We talk about what led him to starting his own non-profit, Trapking Humane Cat Solutions, some of the challenges he has faced including the lack of diversity in animal welfare, and how he uses his entertainment background to spread the word of TNR.
Sterling "TrapKing" Davis is a well-traveled, ex-military, music, and cat enthusiast who has always loved entertaining and interacting with people. Since childhood, he was also the only guy in his neighborhood that loved cats. One day, while taking a break from the rap group he was performing with, Sterling saw a posting for a job cleaning litter boxes at his local shelter. He needed something to do to pass the time so he applied for the job.
He started cleaning litter boxes and loved working with cats so much, he was promoted to an outreach position where he could focus on trap-neuter-return (TNR), the only way to humanely control cat overpopulation. It was at that point he decided to give up his successful music career and focus on his passion for cats.
In 2017, he started his own nonprofite, Trapking Humane Cat Solutions, where he focuses on educating, assisting, and doing TNR and community cat management. Davis' mission is to change the stereotypes of not only men in cat rescue, but also bridge the gap in communication between black communities and predominantly white animal welfare orginizations. He lives and breathes his motto, "You don't lose cool points for compassion"
Today Davis is a sought-after speaker all over the world, speaking at events like Cat Con, Cat Camp, Meow DC, and fundraising events for small rescues and shelters across the United States. Sterling hopes to one day travel the country in a recreational vehicle, teaching animal advocates in communities of all sizes how to care for their community cats.
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