Township of Manalapan, NJ Article II Regulating and Licensing of Cats

§ 61-21 Definitions.

As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:

ABANDONED

As to a cat means that the cat has an appearance that an owner has forsaken a domesticated cat entirely, or the cat appears to be deprived of care, shelter and support.

ANIMAL

For the purpose of this article, "animal" shall mean "cat."

ANIMAL CONTROL AUTHORITY

Any person or agency designated or certified by the State of New Jersey to enforce the provisions of this article.

CAT

Any member of the domestic feline species, male, female or altered.

A. DOMESTICATED CAT A cat that is socialized to humans and appears appropriate as a companion for humans as determined by the Animal Control Authority.

B. FERAL CAT A cat that appears to exist in a wild or untamed state either due to circumstances of birth or conversion to a wild state of a previously domesticated cat after living out of doors for a period of time as determined by the Animal Control Authority.

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 or other transfer are kept or displayed.

EARTIPPING

Straight-line cutting of the tip of the left ear of a cat while the cat is anesthetized.

FARM

Any area of a lot of a minimum of five acres which is used for gain in the raising of agricultural product, horticultural products, livestock or dairy products, as defined in § 95-2.4.

LICENSING AUTHORITY

The agency or department of Manalapan Township 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.

NUISANCE

Conduct by cats that disturbs the peace and threatens the public health by:

A. Habitually howling crying or screaming; or

B. Significant destruction, desecration or soiling of property against the wishes of the owner of the property; or

C. Carrying a zoonotic disease.

OWNER

When applied to the proprietorship of a cat, shall include 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. Any person that regularly feeds, shelters or cares for a cat shall be deemed the owner of that cat.

PERSON

Any individual, corporation, partnership, organization or institution commonly recognized by law as a unit.

TNR

Trap, neuter, return.

TNR PROGRAM

A program pursuant to which feral and abandoned cats are trapped, neutered or spayed, vaccinated against rabies and returned to the location where they congregate.

ZOONOTIC DISEASE

Those diseases transmittable to humans from animals, including parasitic, bacterial, fungal and viral diseases.

§ 61-22 Responsibility of owners of domesticated cats.

A. Owners of domesticated cats shall provide appropriate and adequate food, water and shelter for their cat.

B. Owners of domesticated cats shall license each cat. Vaccination against rabies is required for licensing.

C. The owner of a domesticated cat violates this section if the cat creates a nuisance.

D. The owner of a sexually intact (not spayed or neutered) domesticated cat shall not permit the cat to roam unsupervised off the property of the owner.

E. An owner shall not abandon a domesticated cat.

§ 61-23 Responsibility of property owners.

A. The owner of real property shall spay/neuter and license any domestic cat the property owner permits to wander unsupervised on and off his/her property.

B. The owner of real property shall not allow sexually intact (not spayed or neutered) feral cats to congregate on his/her property.

C. The owner of real property violates this section if a cat on his/her property creates a nuisance.

D. Only an Animal Control Officer, the ASPCA, or volunteers of TNR programs are authorized to trap cats anywhere in the Township. A property owner may trap on his/her own property using a trap approved by the Animal Control Officer. It is a violation of this section for any unauthorized person to trap cats.

§ 61-24 Rabies vaccination of cats.

A. Vaccination and license requirements. No person shall own, keep, harbor, or maintain any cat over seven months of age within Manalapan Township, unless such cat is vaccinated and licensed. The provisions of this section do not apply to cats held in a cattery, or those held by a state or federal licensed research facility, or a 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 Animals Vaccine 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 to the owner of each animal vaccinated on a form recommended by the state.

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.

§ 61-25 Licensing requirements; fees.

A. Cats must have license number displayed. Any person who shall own, keep, or harbor a cat of licensing age shall annually apply for and procure from the Board of Health of the Township 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 a license number shall include, but are not limited to, breakaway or elastic collars. License tags or sleeves are not transferable.

B. Time for applying for license. 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 30 days after such acquisition or age attainment.

C. Cats brought into jurisdiction. Any person who shall bring or cause to be brought into the Township any cat licensed in another state for the current year, and bearing a registration tag or sleeve, and shall keep the same or permit the same to be kept within the Township for a period of more than 90 days, shall immediately apply for a license and registration tag or sleeve for each such cat.

(1) Any person who shall bring or cause to be brought into the Township any unlicensed cat, not owned by such person, and shall keep same or permit same to be kept within the Township for a period of more than 30 days, shall immediately apply for a license and registration tag or sleeve for each such cat.

(2) The property owner is responsible for the vaccination and licensing of any cat that remains on his/her property for a period of more than 10 days.

D. Application contents; preservation of information. The application shall state the breed, sex, age, color, and markings of the cat for which 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 Board of Health.

E. License forms and tags. License forms and official tags or sleeves shall be furnished by the municipality and shall be numbered serially, and shall bear the year of issuance and the name of the municipality.

F. Evidence of inoculation with rabies vaccine or certification of exemption; requirement for license. The Board of Health shall not 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 recommendations of the United States Department of Agriculture and the United States Department of Human Services, or has been certified exempt as provided by § 61-24 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.

G. A license shall be issued after payment of a fee of $15 for each unneutered cat, and $12 for each neutered cat, and unneutered cats shall be registered in order before neutered cats. In the event that more than two cats shall be registered, then each cat's registration fee, thereafter, shall be $6 for neutered cats and $9 for non-neutered cats. Persons who fail to obtain a license as required within the time period specified in this section will be subject to a delinquent fee of $5.

[Amended 11-10-2009 by Ord. No. 2009-24]

H. Fees, renewals, expiration date of license. 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 license and registration tag or sleeve shall be the same as for the current license fee schedule, and said license, registration tag or sleeve and renewal thereof shall expire on the last day of February in the following year. Only one license and registration tag or sleeve shall be required in the licensing year for any cat in the Township. Any valid New Jersey license tag or sleeve issued by another New Jersey municipality shall be accepted by this municipality as evidence of compliance.

I. Loss of license. If a license tag or sleeve has been misplaced or lost, the Board of Health may issue duplicate license and/or registration sleeve for that particular cat at a fee of $1.

J. Proof of licensing. 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.

K. Interfering with persons performing duties under this article. No person shall hinder, molest, or interfere with anyone authorized or empowered to perform any duty under this article.

L. Disposition of fees collected. License fees and other moneys collected or received under the provisions of this article shall be forwarded to the Treasurer of the municipality, and shall be placed in a special account separate from any of the other accounts of the municipality and shall be used for the following purposes only: collecting, keeping and disposing of cats liable to seizure, for local prevention and control of rabies, including the dissemination of public information, educational programs, providing anti-rabies treatment under the direction of the local Board of Health for any person known or suspected to have been exposed to rabies, and for administering the provisions of this article. The allocation and payment of the license fees and other moneys collected and/or received under the provisions of this article shall be at the sole discretion of the local Board of Health for the above specified purposes. Any unexpended 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 municipality 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.

§ 61-26 Regulation and control.

No person shall own, keep or harbor a cat in the Township except in compliance with the provisions of this article and the following regulations:

A. Use of registration tags. No person, except an officer in the performance of his duties, shall remove a registration tag from the collar of any cat without the consent of the owner, nor shall any person attach a registration tag to a cat for which it was not issued.

B. Interference with official duties. No person shall hinder, molest or interfere with anyone authorized or empowered to perform any duty under this article.

C. Disturbing the peace. No person shall own, keep, harbor or maintain any cat which habitually cries between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m.

D. Running at large. No person owning, keeping or harboring any cat shall suffer to permit it to run at large outside the premises of the owner.

E. Nuisance. No person owning, keeping or harboring a cat shall permit or suffer it to do any injury or to do any damage to any lawn, shrubbery, flowers, grounds or property not belonging to the owner or to cause injury to any livestock, person or domestic animal.

F. No owner of property shall allow unspayed, unvaccinated feral cats to run at large outside the premises of the owner. Vaccination and spaying shall be evidenced by ear-tipping. Farms are exempt from the provisions of this subsection.

§ 61-27 Impoundment and destruction of certain cats; fees.

A. Causes for impounding. The Animal Control Officer may take into custody and impound, or cause to be taken into custody and impounded, any of the following cats:

(1) Any unlicensed cat running at large in violation of the provisions of this article.

(2) Any cat off the premises of the owner, or the person keeping or harboring such cat, which the Animal Control Officer or his agent has reason to believe is a stray cat.

(3) Any cat off the premises of the owner, or the person keeping or harboring such cat, without a current registration tag on its collar.

(4) Any cat or other animal which is suspected to be rabid or evidences any sign of zoonotic disease.

(5) Any feral cat whose vaccination and spay/neuter status is not evidenced by ear tipping.

(6) Any cat or other animal off the premises of the owner reported or observed by the Animal Control Officer to be ill, injured or creating a threat to the public health, safety and welfare or otherwise interfering with the enjoyment of property.

(7) Any cat which the Animal Control Officer has reasonable cause to believe has attacked a person or caused death or serious bodily injury, as defined in N.J.S.A. 2C:11-1(b), to that person; or has caused bodily injury, as defined in N.J.S.A. 2C:11-1(a), to a person during an unprovoked attack and poses a serious threat of harm to persons or domestic animals.

B. Access to premises. Any officer or agent authorized or empowered to perform any duty under this article is hereby authorized to go upon any premises to seize for impounding any cat which he may lawfully seize and impound when such officer is in immediate pursuit of such cat, except upon the premises of the owner of the cat if the owner is present and forbids it.

C. Notice of seizure.

(1) If any cat so impounded or seized wears a registration tag, collar or harness having inscribed thereon or attached thereto the name and address of any person, or if the owner of or the person keeping or harboring the cat is known, the Animal Control Officer shall immediately serve on the person whose address is given on the collar, or on the person owning, keeping or harboring the cat, a notice, in writing, stating that the cat has been seized and will be liable to be disposed of or destroyed if not claimed within seven days after service of the notice.

(2) A notice under this subsection 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 at the address given on the collar, or by forwarding it by mail in a prepaid letter addressed to that person at his usual or last known place of abode or to the address given on the collar.

D. Disposition of unclaimed cats. The Animal Control Officer or his authorized representative, including an authorized kennel, is empowered to cause the destruction, in as humane a manner as possible, of any cat or other animal seized by him or otherwise coming into his possession, under any of the following circumstances:

(1) When any cat or other animal has not been claimed by the person owning, keeping or harboring same within seven days after notice or within seven days of the animal's detention when notice cannot be given to the person owning, keeping or harboring the cat or other animal in accordance with Subsection C and the administrative fee as provided in Subsection E has not been paid.

(2) When any cat is unlicensed at the time it is seized or otherwise comes into the possession of the Animal Control Officer, and the person owning, keeping or harboring such cat has not produced a current license and registration tag as provided in this article.

E. Administrative fee. In order for a cat or other animal to be returned to the person owning, keeping or harboring same, when the cat or other animal has been seized by or otherwise comes into the possession of the Animal Control Officer, there must be paid an administrative fee, which is hereby established. This fee shall be exclusive of any charges or fees of a kennel for the custody, care, maintenance, control or disposal of the cat or other animal. The administrative fee shall be payable to the Township in the following manner:

[Amended 10-27-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-17]

(1) The administrative fee for the return of a cat or other animal shall be $60.

(2) If the cat or other animal is returned to the person owning, keeping or harboring same, at such person's home or place of residence, the fee shall be payable within 10 days of the return, or else the Animal Control Officer will issue a summons for failure to pay the fee; or

(3) If the cat or other animal is to be claimed by the person owning, keeping or harboring the animal at a kennel, proof of payment of the administrative fee must be presented at that time to the kennel.

§ 61-28 Violations and penalties.

Except as otherwise provided in this article, any person who violates, or who fails, or refuses to comply with, this article shall be liable for a penalty of not more than $1,000 and six months' imprisonment, or both, 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 municipality.