Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "feral"

Local Man Fired for Feeding Cats

2012-02-01T08:01:05Z

Larry Ottoviani officially lost his job after seven years with the 7Up Bottling Company for doing the one thing that helped him counteract the anxiety in his personal life.

That one thing was feeding hungry cats.

“I love cats and don’t like to see them go hungry,” Ottoviania said. “When I’m feeding cats I can forget everything else for awhile.”

Ottoviani had been warned several times by his supervisor not to feed the cats. The official termination notice dated Jan. 4, 2012, stated that Ottoviani violated his “last chance agreement not to feed the cats on company time and/or company property.”

While Ottoviani does not deny feeding cats, he denied doing so during company time and on company property.

What was it that Ottoviani felt a need to momentarily forget about, even if it meant risking his job?

He is the father of a dependent adult child with severe physical disabilities and has also been coping with the effects of a debilitating illness afflicting his wife.

During the past year, his wife’s condition required several hospital visits as well as some extended stays. And after a tumor had been found on Ottoviani’s right kidney it required the surgical removal of that kidney.

Fortunately, job-related medical insurance covered most of the costs. Since the loss of his job, Ottoviani says he doesn’t know 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.”

The 7 Up Bottling Company, a subdivision of the Dr. Pepper/Snapple Group with headquarters in Plano, Texas 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, at least in part, there would be far more cats on and around company premises.

In 2008, two local animal advocates, Linda Silva and Nicole Hutchinson, discovered Ottoviani feeding cats. When they saw how many cats there were, they immediately began working with Ottoviani on what is commonly referred to as TNR --Trap/Neuter/Return.

Alley Cat Allies, a national advocacy organization dedicated to the protection and humane treatment of cats maintains a website that identifies TNR as the humane, effective approach for feral cats. Feral cats are 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.

The organization states that another aspect of TNR is that kittens and other cats that can be socialized are not returned but instead adopted into homes. These procedures stabilize colonies of cats since altered cats no longer produce kittens.

Hutchinson enlisted volunteers from the Sacramento Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SSPCA) to sweep and clean up shards of broken glass in an unused area adjacent to the 7Up Bottling Company before launching an aggressive trapping program.

Hutchinson said that between August 2008 and December 2009, 71 cats were trapped and brought to the Sacramento SPCA which runs low-cost feral cat clinics on the first and third Sundays of every month.

The costs for altering the cats were paid by donations from the volunteers and from and grant funds. Ottoviani took home some of the tame cats and kittens, later finding homes for them. He kept the ones he couldn’t find homes for.

In 2006, there was a similar cat feeding incident involving a farmhand employed at the Cornell University Animal Science Teaching and Research Center in ~~Hartford, CT~~ Harford, N.Y..

John Beck was fired for feeding cats on the premises according to a story posted on the Best Friend Animal Sanctuary Network webpage. Beck filed a 20 million dollar lawsuit against Cornell University, which then filed a motion to have the lawsuit thrown out.

Beck admitted that his lawsuit was a long shot and that it was filed “for the principle of the thing.”

“How do you fire somebody for feeding cats?” Beck asked.

Ottoviani still believes he did the right thing. “I acted according to my conscience”, he said.

Linda Silva agrees. “Larry didn’t just feed the cats”, she said, “He went beyond the call of duty and took responsible action. It’s unfortunate that this would lead to the loss of his job.”

Editor's note: Corrections have been made to this article after publishing.

No thanks, but maybe a hiss.

2012-01-31T17:34:27Z

It’s early Sunday morning in January. Cars pull into the lot in an industrial section of South Sacramento. What would possess people to get up this early on a cold, dark winter’s day? It’s not a swap meet, big sale, concert tickets, or church. These people have come to the Sacramento SPCA feral cat clinic to get the cats they’ve trapped spayed or neutered and vaccinated as part of a program called TNR: trap neuter return.

Why do they do this? It’s a problem that has to be dealt with.

“When feral overpopulation causes a problem, people get annoyed with all cats – ferals and pets. They don’t discriminate,” trapper Mary said, summarizing a common sentiment. “Cats get run over, poisoned, abused and killed. Getting feral cats fixed and vaccinated gives them a chance at living a long and happy life and reduces suffering for all cats.”

Mary and other feral caregivers asked to be identified only by their first name, to prevent people from dumping or killing cats in their area.

Trap Neuter Return, or TNR, is the process of trapping free-roaming un-owned cats, vaccinating and fixing them, marking them by removing the tip of the left ear, and returning them to where they were trapped. It saves money and cats’ lives, and best of all, it works.

At the Sacramento SPCA feral cat clinics, cats are fixed, vaccinated, given flea drops, and "ear tipped" for a total cost of $15. Clinics on the first Sunday of the month are sponsored by the Coalition for Community Cats. The Sacramento SPCA sponsors a clinic on the 3rd Sunday, and a recent ASPCA grant sponsors a clinic on an additional Sunday. Clinics are by appointment only, each takes up to 125 cats. Even so they fill up quickly. Appointments are often scheduled a month in advance.

According to Dr. Laurie Siperstein-Cook, chief of shelter medicine at the SSPCA, nearly 7500 cats have been TNR'ed via these clinics over the past four years, and clinic capacity continues to increase. At some clinics 90 percent of the female cats have been pregnant.

Inside the clinic, feral cat caregivers wait patiently with their caged charges. “if (euthanizing feral cats) was going to work, it would have worked already.” veteran trapper John said. John has spent considerable time and expense combating cat overpopulation in Sacramento County, designing a special trailer for transporting and recovering 50 cats at a time. His business card lists him as a “Cat Transporter.” He has TNR’ed over 1,200 cats, with the expenses coming out of pocket.

John has brought 15 trapped cats to this clinic. Some people have brought one or two, others eight or more. There’s a mix of first-time trappers and seasoned veterans.

Each cat gets registered and a traveler tag attached to its trap. Sex and identifying markings are noted. Traps are covered to help the cat inside remain calm. Shrouded traps fill the waiting rooms and line the hallways. At today’s clinic, 90 cats will be altered and vaccinated.

You would think the noise would be tremendous, with 90 cooped-up cats yowling to be let out. The only sound is soft conversation and the rustling of paperwork. These are true feral cats, untouchable and unaccustomed to humans, not pampered and demanding pets. They are in survival mode: terrified, silent, motionless, invisible inside their covered cages.

This is the first and last time these cats will see a veterinarian. Each cat is given a thorough examination. The veterinarians and technicians volunteer their time, for training or to keep sharp on spay and neuter procedures. They run their hands over each animal, palpating to look for tumors, broken bones, or other internal issues. Matted fur is clipped away. Ears, eyes and teeth inspected. The majority of cats are in reasonably good health, as most feral cats are.

After surgery the cats are returned to their trap or a recovery carrier and placed in a quiet area until their caregiver picks them up. They will hold the cat overnight and release it the next day. The trauma of being caged is higher for a feral than is worth the risk of infection or ripped stitches after release.

The program is already seeing results. "At a defined area where we did concentrated mass trapping until almost all the cats were TNR'ed, we saw a drastic decrease in kitten litters." Dr. Laurie said "They used to find a dozen litters per year. After we mass TNR'ed, there have been zero to one litter per year. The caregivers are on the alert and round up any new litters and the mom for TNR and adoption. Since it's a rare occurence, they find it managable to take care of. We fixed about 200 cats, plus many kittens that were rehomed."

She has these suggestions for how you can help cats in your neighborhood:

Visit alleycat.org or coalition4cats.org to learn more about feral cats, and how to tell a feral from a stray.
If you’re feeding free-roaming cats, make sure they’re all fixed and vaccinated. Free and low cost programs are available.
Don’t let your pet cat become part of the feral population. Get your cat fixed and micro-chipped. Call (916) 808-SPAY or visit sacanimal.org for a list of low cost spay and neuter resources in your area.
If you’re unable to care for your pet cat, surrender it to the SSPCA or other adoption program.

Dr. Laurie had this to add "None of (our TNR clinics) would be possible without the feral cat caregivers and the many many hours of exhausting work they put in, with no recompense except the knowledge that they are doing their part to help the cats have a better life...and maybe a thankful hiss or two."

Disclosure: Lisa Farr is a volunteer for the Sacramento SPCA, working for the feral cat program.