(A) No person, being the owner, harborer, or keeper of a cat shall allow such cat to run at large upon any public place, or upon any unenclosed lands, or upon the premises of another. No person, being the owner of cat, shall permit his or her cat to go beyond the boundaries of the owner’s, harborer’s, or keeper’s residential property at any time unless the cat is on a leash.
(B) No owner, harborer, or keeper of a cat shall allow a cat to scratch, dig, urinate, or defecate upon any lawn, tree, shrub, plant, building, or any other property, private or public, or otherwise cause damage to the property or another, other than property owned by the owner, harborer, or keeper of the cat.
(C) Any person owning a cat over 120 days of age shall be required to keep the cat currently immunized against rabies. For the purpose of this section CURRENTLY IMMUNIZED OR VACCINATED AGAINST RABIES shall mean that such cat has been inoculated against rabies by a licensed veterinarian or veterinarian technician within the past 36 months. However, cats receiving their first rabies inoculation must receive a second rabies inoculation within the following 12 months. Proof of inoculation: the owner of the cat shall maintain the tag or the rabies vaccination certificate as written evidence to prove that the cat has a current rabies inoculation and shall produce such tag or certificate as requested by any animal control officer or law enforcement officer.
(D) Every female cat, while in estrus (while in heat), shall be confined in a building or secure enclosure in such manner that she will not be in contact with another cat, nor create a nuisance by attracting other animals.
(E) All cats owned by residents of the village or cats harbored or kept within the village corporation limits by any person shall at all times wear a collar with an identification tag or label which clearly and legibly identifies the owner of the cat by name and current residence address. The owner of a cat shall put a collar and identification tag or label on all cats he or she owns. Any cat found within the village corporation limits without a collar or other identification device, which clearly identifies the owner of the cat, shall be irrebuttably presumed to be a feral or free-roaming cat subject to seizure, impoundment, and/or humane capture or trapping by any village resident, animal control officer, or law enforcement officer.
(F) Any cat which is not properly identified as required by this section is subject to humane trapping and/or capture by any village resident, duly appointed animal control officer, or law enforcement officer. All feral or free-roaming cats trapped or captured pursuant to this section shall be immediately turned over to the Chief of Police. All feral or free-roaming cats captured and/or seized and/or impounded by the Chief of Police shall be considered abandoned property.
(G) Notwithstanding any provision of this section, if a cat is found at large and its owner can be readily identified and located, such cat shall not be impounded, but shall instead be returned to the owner.
(H) Any cat within the village corporation limits shall be considered a public nuisance when:
(1) It is more than six months old and has not been vaccinated or inoculated against rabies within the last two years;
(2) It does not have a collar and identification tag or label as required under the provisions of this section;
(3) By a loud and frequent yelping, crying, or howling, it annoys any person;
(4) It damages any property not the property of its owner;
(5) It runs at large upon any of the streets, avenues, alleys, parks, public ways, school grounds, or upon the private premises of another, other than the owner, keeper, or harborer of the animal within the village corporation limits; and/or
(6) It is not continually confined indoors while it is in estrus (in heat).
(I) Any person who owns, harbors, or keeps a cat and allows it to become a public nuisance as defined by this section, and who shall fail, neglect, or refuse to abate the public nuisance created by the cat within six hours after notice to do so shall be deemed guilty of maintaining a public nuisance.
(J) Euthanasia of any cats seized or captured by virtue of this section shall only be performed by a licensed veterinarian, veterinarian medical technician, or an employee or agent of a public or private agency, animal shelter, or other animal care facility under the direction of the Chief of Police.
(K) Any cat which the Chief of Police seizes, impounds, and/or receives, pursuant to this section, shall be humanely kept and cared for a period of 72 hours from its receipt by the Chief of Police. In order to claim ownership and obtain release of the impounded cat, the owner of the cat shall submit proof of ownership. Further, as pre-condition of release, the owner of the cat shall provide the cat with a collar and identification tag which clearly identifies its owner and the owner’s current address. Further, as a condition of the release, the owner, harborer, or keeper shall agree to have the cat sterilized at the owner’s expense and shall show written proof of a current rabies vaccination and the subsequent sterilization procedure. The owner shall pay all fines, fees, and costs accrued in connection with the impoundment and care of the cat.
(L) The following fees and costs shall accrue with the impoundment of any cat:
(1) For seizing and impounding an animal: $15; and
(2) For housing and feeding, per day (or any portion of a day): $10.
(M) Fees and costs associated with impoundment shall double with repeat impoundment for violations of this section within a six-month period.
(N) No person shall feed any feral or free-roaming cat nor feed any other cat without the consent of the owner.
(O) No person shall maliciously, willfully, and without the consent of the owner, kill or injure any cat that is the property of another, with the exception that a duly appointed animal control officer or law enforcement officer may, in compliance with this section, humanely euthanize any free-roaming or feral cat or otherwise make other arrangements for the human disposition of any cats captured or humanely trapped pursuant to the authority of this section.
(P) No person shall remove a collar or identification tag or label from a cat without the permission of the owner, nor shall any person otherwise intentionally conceal the identity of the owner of any cat from any animal control officer or law enforcement officer.
(Ord. 06-10, passed 2-21-2006) Penalty, see § 90.99