January 27, 2005


Hitachi volunteers make a difference for feral cats

“For every animal born, another will die.”
–Diane Cascia, regarding the need for spaying and neutering

By Jeanne C. Lewis
Staff Writer

Amidst the hullabaloo of the Ken Lay-Enron scandal and the Martha Stewart jail sentence, the headquarters and manufacturing site of Hitachi Global Storage Technologies (Hitachi GST) is making a difference to the feral cat population on its 332-acre site on Cottle Road. It’s done without fanfare or accolades—just a few dedicated employee volunteers on their own time—privately attending to the 40 cats and two or three litters of kittens who make the scenic site their abode.

Denise Lloyd (left) and Diane Cascia’s volunteering efforts have helped 40 resident feral cats at Hitachi. Bubba (below left) is a resident feral cat on Hitachi’s campus. —Photos by Jeanne C. Lewis

The endeavor began five years ago when Hitachi GST employee Diane Cascia noticed an abundance of felines in the foliage and wooded areas of her work area. She began humanely trapping the cats on her own, having them spayed or neutered and returning them to the Hitachi grounds.

In April 2002, a coordinated effort was made to improve the lives of the wild felines. Overseen by Cascia, Denise Lloyd and a few other individuals, the volunteers control the feral cat population and maintain the health of resident cats.

“Diane saw the need for a feral cat management and promptly took a leadership role in managing and developing the program,” Lloyd said of Cascia. “She is directly responsible for seeing to the health and population management of Hitachi’s feral cats.”

Love story
Cascia’s love of cats came early. Growing up in Southern California, she always had one or two, besides feeding strays in her neighborhood. One incident left an indelible impact on her. When Cascia was 12, her younger brother brought home a kitten covered in oil—a vicious prank by teenagers, she believed. The siblings washed and tried to clean the small creature, but it was too late. The feline died from the toxicity and Cascia vowed that she would help and defend cats wherever her life took her.

She has been a member of animal groups in the past and now devotes much of her free time to Safe Haven Animal Sanctuary (SHAS) when she’s not caring for the Hitachi ferals or her own cats at home. With SHAS, Cascia fosters cats and kittens until they can be adopted and works at SHAS adoption fairs on Saturdays at Pet Club on Snell Avenue.

“I wish everyone could spend an hour at a humane society and see the litters of cats that are dropped off, “Cascia said about her avocation. “Then they would know how important it is to spay and neuter their animals. For every animal born, another will die.”

Controlling the population
Cascia’s volunteering efforts at Hitachi GST includes controlling the feral cat population through spaying or neutering and maintaining the health of the resident cats. She reports the majority of the felines will live out their lives at the site because there is a shortage of available homes for companion animals, and many have lived in the wild so long they could never be domesticated.

Cascia humanely traps adult cats and kittens, has them spayed or neutered, then returns them to the Hitachi campus. There are nine feeding stations (eight of which Cascia attends to) set up on the property, two cat houses and signs posted “do not disturb” in the urban oasis.

This year, Hitachi GST has provided for all medical expenses and food and traps for the cats, an effort Cascia attributes to her colleague Elizabeth Zimmermann.

“We wouldn’t have a Hitachi feral program if it wasn’t for Elizabeth and Denise,” Cascia states about their work in the program. “Denise saw me feeding the cats and worked with Elizabeth to get money in the budget to provide for them.”

Every so often a tame feline is found on the Hitachi site and brought to SHAS. If the owner cannot be located, the cat is fostered until adopted. Recently a cat was hit by an automobile on the property and rushed to an emergency vet clinic, then to the Humane Society of Silicon Valley. Cascia shared that Denise Lloyd provided payment for the release and medical expenses at the clinic. Now the five-year-old orange tabby named Clyde is in SHAS foster care and is ready for adoption.

Hitachi GST is a large, international corporation, but any company is only as exceptional as its individual employees. And on Cottle Road, a group of dedicated volunteers are making a difference nurturing their small charge—not as a part of their employment, but because they care.