NIMBY activists have taken aim at a cat food business in Naples that has become the focus of an investigation into possible violations of the city’s ban on littering.

The cat food company, Noodlers, has been in the spotlight since its owners, who are also owners of a chain of restaurants, were arrested on suspicion of dumping and disposing of catfish and other waste in the streets, according to a lawsuit filed last month in the Naples city court.

A man who answered the phone at Noodles, where the owner and two others were arrested, said he could not confirm whether the company was being investigated by the Naples Police Department.

The city of Naples issued a permit last year for Noodler’s cat food to be sold on sidewalks in the city center, but it was later suspended after complaints from residents and a public health expert.

Noodlers owner James Estrada said he has received death threats.

He said he is cooperating with authorities and will be filing a lawsuit to prove his innocence.

The lawsuit contends that Noodle’s owners dumped, disgorged and disposed of catfishes in the street during the winter, and the city of Venice, where Noodled’s owners are from, has not taken steps to address the problem.