As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
A house, apartment, store or other building whether or not
used or designated for use as a dwelling.
The family group occupying one dwelling unit.
A cat shall be considered public nuisance if it has no known
owner or custodian, or if it has no known place of care or shelter,
or if it trespasses upon and damages either private or public property
or harms lawful users or occupants thereof. No leash shall be required
to be affixed to any cat.
Any person who owns, keeps or harbors any cat
at any place within the borough or who permits any cat to enter the
corporate limits of the borough shall exercise sufficient and proper
care of and control over such animal at all times so as to prevent
the same from becoming a public nuisance as defined in this article.
Each owner of a cat over the age of six months
shall attach to such cat by whatever means the owner shall consider
safe and humane a visible identification marker which identification
marker shall be carried by the cat at all times when the cat is outside
the owner's premises. The marker shall bear the name of the owner,
address of the owner and a number or name for the particular cat.
The Animal Control Officer or other person designated
by the council as a person authorized to enforce the provisions of
this article shall, upon receipt of a written complaint to the Health
Department by a local resident that a cat is a public nuisance, as
defined herein, seize the cat and keep the same in his/her care and
custody for a period of seven full days from the date of apprehension.
If any cat apprehended pursuant to the provisions
of this article bears any identification of ownership or place of
abode, the Animal Control Officer or other duly authorized apprehending
official shall, on the day of apprehension, notify the owner or the
occupant of said place of abode that the animal has been apprehended
and that it may be claimed at a designated location, subject to the
provisions of this article. A notice which shall include the complaint
under this article may be served either by delivering it to the person
on whom it is to be served or by leaving it at the person's usual
or last known place of abode or by forwarding it by the post in a
prepaid letter addressed to that person at his/her usual or last known
place of abode.
During the aforementioned seven-day custodial period, any cat so incarcerated may be claimed by its owner upon payment to the Animal Control Officer or other authorized custodian a minimum fee as set forth in the Fee Schedule in § 62-8.
A.
No more than five cats shall be sheltered or kept
by any one family group. If any family group possesses more than five
cats, the person in control shall arrange for their removal.
B.
The quarters where cats are kept shall be clean and
sanitary under standards generally accepted for the housing, feeding
and care of cats by the American Veterinary Medical Association.
Any cat which has been seized pursuant to this
article and which has not been reclaimed during the custodial period
herein set forth may be claimed by any person willing to assume the
responsibilities of ownership. Otherwise said cat may be disposed
of by the Animal Control Officer or other duly designated official
applying euthanasia in a humane manner in accordance with standards
generally recognized by The American Veterinary Medical Association.
