[Adopted 4-6-1992 as Ord. No. 1011]
As used in this Article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
ANIMAL
A dog or cat.
ANIMAL CONTROL AUTHORITY
Any person or agency designated or certified by the State of New Jersey to enforce the provisions of this Article, including the Borough of Collingswood Animal Control Officer, or any person or entity under contract with the Borough for the control of animals.[1]
CAT
Any member of the domestic feline species, male, female or altered.
CAT OF LICENSING AGE
Any cat which has attained the age of seven months or which possesses a set of permanent teeth.
CATTERY
Any room or group of rooms, cage or exhibition pen not part of a kennel, wherein cats for sale are kept or displayed.
HARBORING
Maintaining custody or control over a cat or permitting a cat to remain on the premises or providing shelter or food, which shall include the leaving of food in an area to which stray cats have access.
LICENSING AUTHORITY
The agency or department of the Borough of Collingswood or any designated representative thereof charged with administering the issuance and/or revocation of permits and licenses under the provisions of this Article.
NEUTERED
Rendered permanently incapable of reproduction as certified by a licensed veterinarian.
OWNER
When applied to the proprietorship of a cat, includes every person having a right of property (or custody) in such cat and every person who has such cat in his/her keeping or who harbors or maintains a cat or knowingly permits a cat to remain on or about any premises occupied by that person.
PERSON
Any individual, corporation, partnership, organization or institution commonly recognized by law as a unit.
PUBLIC NUISANCE
A cat that damages either public or private property or harms the lawful users or occupants thereof.
STRAY CAT
A cat having no known owner or custodian or known place of care and shelter.
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code; see Chapter 1, General Provisions, Art. I.
A. 
Vaccination and license requirements. No person shall own, keep, harbor or maintain any cat over seven months of age within the Borough of Collingswood unless such cat is vaccinated and licensed. The provisions of this section do not apply to cats held in a cattery or to those held by a state or federally licensed research facility or veterinary establishment where cats are received or kept for diagnostic, medical, surgical or other treatments or licensed animal shelters, pounds, kennels or pet shops.
B. 
Vaccination. All cats shall be vaccinated against rabies by a licensed veterinarian in accordance with the latest Compendium of Animal Rabies Vaccines and Recommendations for Immunization published by the National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians, except as provided for in Subsection D.
C. 
Vaccination certificate. A certificate of vaccination shall be issued on a form recommended by the state to the owner of each vaccinated animal.
D. 
Exemptions. Any cat may be exempted from the requirements of such vaccination for a specified period of time by the local board of health upon presentation of a veterinarian's certificate stating that because of an infirmity or other physical condition or regimen of therapy, the inoculation of such cat shall be deemed inadvisable.
Any person who shall own, keep or harbor a cat of licensing age shall annually apply for and procure from the Clerk of the Borough or other official designated by the governing body thereof to license cats in the Borough in which he/she resides a license and official registration tag with license number or a registration sleeve for each cat so owned, kept or harbored and shall place upon such cat a collar or other device with the license number securely fastened or displayed thereto. Acceptable methods of displaying license numbers shall include but are not limited to break-away or elastic collars. License tags or sleeves are not transferable.
The owner of any newly acquired cat of licensing age or of any cat which attains licensing age shall make application for a license tag or sleeve for such cat within 10 days after such acquisition or age attainment. This requirement will not apply to a nonresident keeping a cat within the Borough of Collingswood for no longer than 90 days.
A. 
Any person who shall bring or cause to be brought into this Borough any cat licensed in another state for the current year and bearing a registration tag or sleeve and who shall keep the same or permit the same to be kept within the Borough for a period of more than 90 days shall immediately apply for a license and registration tag or sleeve for such cat.
B. 
Any person who shall bring or cause to be brought into this Borough any unlicensed cat and who shall keep the same or permit the same to be kept within the Borough for a period of more than 10 days shall immediately apply for a license and registration tag or sleeve for each such cat.
The application shall state the breed, sex, age, color and markings of the cat for which the license and registration are sought and whether it is of a long- or short-haired variety; also the name, street and post office address of the owner and the person who shall keep or harbor such cat. The information on said application and the registration number issued for the cat shall be preserved for a period of three years by the Clerk or other local official designated to license cats in this municipality.
No municipal Clerk or other official designated by the governing body of any municipality to license cats therein shall grant any such license and official registration tag or sleeve for any cat unless the owner thereof provides evidence that the cat to be licensed and registered has been inoculated with a rabies vaccine of a type approved by and administered in accordance with the recommendation of the United States Department of Agriculture and the United States Department of Human Services or has been certified exempt as provided by § 105-30 of this Article. The rabies inoculation shall be administered by a duly licensed veterinarian or by such other veterinarian permitted by law to do the same.
A license shall be issued after payment of a fee of $8 for each unneutered cat and $5 for each neutered cat. Persons who fail to obtain a license as required within the time period specified in this Article will be subject to a delinquent fee of $2.
A. 
A license from another municipality shall be accepted. The person applying for the license and registration tag and/or sleeve shall pay the fee fixed or authorized. The fee for the renewal of a license and registration tag or sleeve shall be the same as for the original, and said license, registration tag or sleeve and renewal thereof shall expire on December 31 in the following year.
B. 
Only one license and registration tag or sleeve shall be required in the licensing year for any cat in this Borough. Any valid New Jersey license tag or sleeve issued by a New Jersey municipality shall be accepted by this Borough as evidence of compliance.
Proof of licensing shall be produced by any person owning, keeping, maintaining or harboring a cat, upon the request of any health official, police officer, animal control officer or other authorized person.
A. 
License fees and other moneys collected or received under the provisions of this Article shall be forwarded to the Treasurer of the Borough, other accounts of the Borough and shall be used for the following purposes only:
(1) 
Collecting, keeping and disposing of cats liable to seizure.
(2) 
Local prevention and control of rabies.
(3) 
Providing antirabies treatment under the direction of the local Board of Health for any person known or suspected to have been exposed to rabies.
(4) 
Administering the provisions of this Article.
B. 
Any unexpected balance remaining in such special account shall be retained until the end of the third fiscal year following and may be used for any of the purposes set forth in this section. At the end of said third fiscal year following and at the end of each fiscal year thereafter, there shall be transferred from such special account to the general funds of the Borough any amount then in such account which is in excess of the total amount paid into the special account during the last two fiscal years next preceding.
A. 
Any person who owns, keeps or harbors any cat located within the Borough of Collingswood or permits a cat to enter the Borough of Collingswood shall exercise sufficient and proper care and control over such animal at all times so as to prevent the animal from becoming a public nuisance or otherwise violating this Article.
B. 
No person owning, keeping or harboring any cat shall permit it to soil, defile or commit any nuisance on any place where people congregate or walk upon any public property whatsoever. This provision shall not apply to privately owned property of the owner or keeper of the cat and the property owned or controlled by persons who have invited or permitted the owner or keeper of a cat to bring such cat upon the premises.
C. 
No person owning or keeping a cat shall permit such cat to become a public nuisance as defined herein.
D. 
No person shall abandon any cat of any age or permit a cat to become a stray.
[Amended 9-6-2016 by Ord. No. 1606]
No person shall harbor any nonowned, unlicensed or stray cat or make food available to the same following receipt of a notice from the Secretary of the Board of Health, police, Nuisance Officer, Animal Control Officer or the Superintendent of Public Works.
Except as otherwise provided in this Article, any person who violates or who fails or refuses to comply with this Article shall be liable to a penalty of not less than $25 nor more than $500 for each offense, to be recovered by and in the name of the local Board of Health or by and in the name of the Borough.