Shipyard feral cats no longer ‘vermin’ in OSHA’s eyes

In a piece of good news for the cat lovers among us, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration is proposing a rule under which shipyard feral cats will no longer be considered vermin.

Feral cats are among the issues covered in 18 separate regulations proposed Oct. 4 by OSHA, according to last week’s blog by Patrick Melfi, a Syracuse, New York-based member of law firm Bond Schoeneck & King P.L.L.C.

In a proposal that was probably crafted by a feline fan, the proposed change says while shipyard employers must maintain workplaces in a manner that prevents vermin infestation, “OSHA recognizes that feral cats pose a minor, if any, threat, and tend to avoid human contact, and OSHA proposes to remove the term ‘feral cats’ from the definition of vermin in the standard.”

As our cats would say approvingly, “Meow.”