Melmax, myself and others are helping Larry and his family....

CarolinaD, I think it's possible that when readers saw the Chip-in link they might have gone directly there without leaving a comment. The Chip-in was started by a gal in Kentucky after she had read the story. I personally had nothing to do with the creation of this event, though, like many others, am happy to see this kind of support for the Ottoviani family.

Thank you Amy! And thank you to everyone who has commented. No matter what side of the argument readers have taken in response to this issue, you have all added to the content of the original article making things that much more interesting. Hats off to all of you!

Thank you all very much for your input. I will pass this information on to Mr. Ottoviani and see that he looks into it!

Justme, I appreciate your comments, as all comments add to the discussion. Clearly the problem of unsterilized cats is common throughout the U.S, and the world. However, your comments illustrate exactly what can happen without an aggressive and humane approach addressing this. Most people don't want these situations to occur in their backyard or on business property. When these situations do occur, it helps to understand that ignoring the problem will NOT make it go away. The problem at the 7-up plant existed at the time Mr. Ottoviani began his employment. This indicates that there was a food source for the cats. It has been suggested, most likely quite accurately, that the cats were surviving on rodents because cats are resiliant animals and though they may suffer, they can survive on very little. The answer to these types of situations is NOT to ignore the cats thinking that the problem will just go away; it WON'T, as indicated by the situation you have described. Trapping cats and taking them to an animal shelter to be killed is an option, but one that is distasteful to many people and costs the taxpayers money. Other methods are illegal and/or inhumane. TNR (Trap/Neuter/Release) does appear to be one solution that is humane and effective even though it may not have the approval of all people. That may be simply because many people do not understand fully how it works. The method of TNR only returns healthy cats, not unhealthy cats, back to where they were AFTER sterilizing and vaccinating them. When the cycle of reproduction ends so does the birth of new litters, which inevitably leads to a reduction of cats. Un-neutered male cats compete for females in heat, and that's where most of the fighting behavior comes from. If you want the situation to improve, the only way it will improve is if you or someone takes action. , After Mr. Ottaviani and several volunteers launched an aggressive TNR program they effectively reduced the number of cats at the bottling facility, removing the unhealthy ones in the process. It's a shame that company management didn't see this, unless, as some readers had suggested, they had other reasons for wanting to terminate Mr. O's employment.