Feral Cats as Domestic Animals

An Ohio subscriber recently asked the following question:

The insured's landlord's package policy excludes damage from "insects, rodents, birds, or domestic animals." During the course of a tenant move-out/move-in, three feral cats entered the home. They could not be trapped initially and did significant damage prior to being removed. The company has stipulated the cats were not the pets of either tenant and were in fact feral. The company has denied the claim, asserting that whether an animal is "domestic" depends upon the species. The insured asserts it depends on the behavior of the animal, and feral, wild cats cannot be considered domestic. Based on staff experience unrelated to insurance, we know feral cats enjoy the same protections under our animal cruelty statutes as pet cats, and for criminal law they are considered "domestic" regardless of their disposition. Insurance law frequently diverging, we would like your thoughts on the company's denial.

ANSWER: Absent a definition in the policy, we look to the common dictionary meaning of "domestic animal": "any of various animals (as the horse or sheep) domesticated so as to live and breed in a tame condition" (Merriam-Webster Online), and "an animal, as the horse or cat, that has been tamed and kept by humans as a work animal, food source, or pet, especially a member of those species that have, through selective breeding, become notably different from their wild ancestors" (dictionary.com). These definitions leave feral cats out as they are not pets or tame, even if they are protected by animal cruelty statutes. So, the exclusion would not apply. Read More

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