[Adopted 3-20-1990 by Ord. No. 934,
approved 3-20-1990]
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
A felis libyca domestica, kept as a pet and/or for rodent
control.
Any person owning, keeping, feeding, harboring or having
custody of a cat or who allows a cat to reside or remain about his
premises shall be considered a cat owner.
The practice of inoculations with a vaccine to afford protection
from rabies, as required by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental
Resources.
A.
It shall be unlawful for any owner to have any cat
that becomes a nuisance in the Borough. Acts of nuisance shall include,
but are expressly not restricted to, the following:
(1)
The frequent raising of any disturbance between the
hours of 9:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., prevailing time, or at extended
intervals at any other time of the day, or both.
(2)
Viciousness.
(3)
Frequent digging into flower beds, lawns, children's
sandboxes or gardens or the depositing of feces or urine and/or otherwise
damaging shrubbery, trees or lawns on premises, personal property
or other property not belonging to the owner of the cat.
B.
No owner shall permit a cat to enter upon any area
designated as a tot-lot in any publicly owned park or playground.
C.
Any owner of a cat shall comply with and be current
with rabies vaccination requirements of the laws of the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania with regard to cats.
A.
The Health Inspector or the person or agency designated
by the governing body of the Borough shall enforce the provisions
of this article. Upon receipt of a written complaint that a cat is
a public nuisance, the Inspector will investigate said complaint,
and, if found to be legitimate, the Inspector shall authorize the
seizure of the cat by the issuance of humane-type cat trap to trap
said cat alive. Traps will only be set during daylight hours. Trapping
at night is prohibited.
B.
The person who is issued the trap must notify the
enforcement officer as soon as possible after a cat is apprehended.
The enforcement officer and/or the person or agency designated by
the governing body of the Borough will transport and deliver the cat
to the Monroe County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
for holding. If the Monroe County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty
to Animals refuses to take the animal, the cat will be delivered to
a veterinarian contracted with the Borough and held for 72 hours prior
to being disposed of in a humane manner. If the cat so apprehended
bears any identification of ownership, the designated officer shall,
on the date of apprehension, notify the owner that the animal has
been apprehended and that it may be claimed at a designated location
subject to the provisions of this article.
C.
Any cat may be claimed by its owner at the veterinarian
during the custodial period and shall pay all costs for the care,
maintenance and disposal of said cat at the prevailing veterinarian
rate.
D.
Any cat which has been seized pursuant to this article and which has not been reclaimed during the custodial period may be disposed of in a humane manner in accordance with standards generally followed by the Monroe County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals or as provided by the contracted veterinarian service in § 67-7B.
No more than four cats shall be kept, maintained
or harbored for more than 90 days in any residential housing unit
or on its grounds. This provision shall not apply to cats which have
been owned prior to the effective date of this article.
The Health Officer or the Inspector or authorized
agent or any municipal officer or agent authorized and empowered to
perform any duty under this article is hereby authorized to enter
upon any premises to enforce the provision of this article.
[1]
Editor's Note: Former § 67-10, Licensing and registration,
was repealed 4-16-2019 by Ord. No. 1340, approved 4-16-2019.
It shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly
own, keep, feed or harbor any cat which has been found to violate
the provisions of this article. Any person found to violate the provisions
of this article shall, upon conviction, receive a fine not greater
than $1,000.
