The new year didn?t start out very well for Larry Ottoviani. After seven years of working at the 7Up Bottling Company in Sacramento, California Ottoviani was fired on January 4th for feeding feral cats.
Ottoviani said that he couldn?t stand to see the cats hungry and wanted to do something about it. It might have been the only think that Larry felt capable of fixing, because there were too many other things going on in his life that he had absolutely no control over.
?When I?m feeding the cats I can forget everything else for awhile.? Ottoviania said.
Ottoviani is the father of a dependent adult child with severe physical disabilities and has also been coping with his wife?s debilitating illness. During the past twelve months, his wife?s condition required multiple hospital visits as well as some extended stays. Then, after a tumor had been found on Ottoviani?s right kidney he had to undergo surgery to have the kidney removed.
Fortunately, Larry had medical insurance at his job, which covered most of the costs. Since losing his job, however, Ottoviani isn?t sure what he?s going to do. Even with COBRA, a health benefit provision that provides temporary continuation of health coverage at group rates, Ottoviania admits ?I don?t know how I?m going to afford to pay the $400 monthly premiums.?
Ottoviani?s supervisor had warned him several times not to feed the cats. The 7Up Bottling Company is a beverage production facility governed by the U. S. Food and Drug Administration. ?According to company spokesperson Jason Genthner, ?The FDA states that we must ensure that the grounds around the food plant under the control of the operator shall be kept in a condition that will protect against the contamination of food. Over the years we have seen an increased presence of feral cats on our property.?
Ottoviani believes that if it weren?t for him, there would be far more cats on and around company premises. Larry has been taking care of a colony of feral cats living near the bottling plant; feeding them and working with the Sacramento SPCA on a Trap/Neuter/Release program (TNR) to get the felines neutered and vaccinated. He?s even helped find forever homes for some of the tamer cats and kittens.
TNR has come under fire from wildlife experts, who believe that any colony of wild cats endangers other natural wildlife, and natural ecosystems. They believe that the only real solution is for people to adopt better practices about spaying and neutering pets, and not abandon them.
Alley Cat Allies, a national cat advocacy organization maintains that TNR has proven successful in stabilizing wild cat colonies. They identify TNR as the humane, effective approach for feral cats. The concept behind TNR is that feral cats be humanely trapped, spayed or neutered, vaccinated, and ear tipped (the universal symbol of a neutered and vaccinated cat), and then returned to their outdoor home. Kittens and friendly cats are not returned but are adopted into homes. These procedures seek to stabilize colonies of cats since altered cats no longer produce kittens.
When cats are returned to a TNR area, volunteers feed the feral colony to reduce the threat to wildlife and to keep an eye out for any stray newcomers. Overseeing the colonies takes a lot of effort.
The official termination notice Ottoviani received stated that he had violated his ?last chance agreement not to feed the cats on company time and/or company property.?
Ottoviani does not deny feeding the cats, but he maintains that he did not do so during company time or on company property. Volunteers from the Sacramento Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SSPCA) had swept and cleaned up broken glass in an unused area adjacent to the 7Up Bottling Company before beginning the aggressive TNR program.
Ottoviani still believes he did the right thing. ?I acted according to my conscience?, he said.
Meanwhile, 7Up simply wants the cats to go away. They have placed several traps on their property trying to catch the cats themselves. 7Up Spokesperson, Jason Genthner, said ?We plan to take them to a wildlife refuge and set them free,? a statement that will have conservationists gnashing their teeth.
A petition has been started at thepetitionsite.com asking that 7Up give Ottoviani his job back. People are also leaving comments on 7Up?s Facebook page in support of Ottoviani.
About the author: Ariel Wulff is an author, artist and animal advocate. She has worked in animal rescue for more than 24 years, authoring the book Born Without a Tail, a memoir of her experiences with rescued animals. She writes a column as the Cleveland Pets Examiner, and is the National Animal Books Examiner. She also maintains a personal blog about dogs: Up on the Woof, and uses her yelodoggie art to spread the joy of living with dogs.
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