Great news for cat lovers in Nova Scotia: the provincial government is updating the Animal Protection Act and for the first time, cats are getting a specific mention.

It means the province will be able to set out in regulation what cat owners should or shouldn’t do, such as what constitutes abuse and what doesn't.

"It demonstrates value in our community. It shows government is taking it seriously, that it is an issue. It's no secret that HRM has a problem with homeless cats. That they're not in the bylaw, [but] dogs are... this is one more extension to that," said Cindy Murphy, a Halifax cat lover and part of Spay Day HRM. The group helps people spay and neuter cats.

The province is also proposing an amendment to better define abandonment. That's a big issue when it comes to cats, given how many feral ones there are in the province. In some areas, there are entire wild cat communities.

The change is an attempt to give law enforcement officers more power to go after those who abandon a family pet, because getting rid of a pet by simply letting it go will be considered abuse.

The minister who tabled Thursday's bill, Keith Colwell, says once it's law, his department will be able to draft regulations to lay out all those rules for pet owners.