[Added 6-1-2009 by Ord. No. 2009-01[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also provided that the effective date of this article would be 11-1-2009.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated.
ANIMAL
For the purpose of this article, animal shall mean 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.
CAT
Any member of the domestic feline species; male, female, or altered.
CAT OF LICENSING AGE
Any cat that has attained the age of seven months or that possesses a set of permanent teeth.
CATTERY
Shall mean any room or group of rooms, cage, or exhibition pen, not part of a kennel, wherein cats for sale are kept or displayed.
LICENSING AUTHORITY
The agency or department of the Township of Cranbury, 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, 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.
PERSON
Any individual, corporation, partnership, organization, or institution commonly recognized by law as a unit.
A. 
Vaccination and license requirements. No person shall own, keep, harbor, or maintain any cat over seven months of age within the Township, unless such cat is vaccinated and licensed.
B. 
Vaccination. All cats shall be vaccinated against rabies by or under the supervision of a duly 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.
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: The requirements of this section shall not apply to:
(1) 
Any cat(s) 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.
(2) 
Any cat exempted from the requirements for a specified period of time by the Board of Health, upon the request by the owner and 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.
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 animal licensing official 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 the license number shall include, but are not limited to, breakaway or elastic collars. License tags or sleeves are nontransferable.
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 10 days after such acquisition or age attainment. This requirement will not apply to a nonresident keeping a cat within the Township for no longer than 90 days.
C. 
Cats brought into jurisdiction.
(1) 
Any person who shall bring, or cause to be brought into this Township, any cat licensed in another state for the current year and bearing registration tag or sleeve, and who shall keep such cat or permit such cat to be kept within the Township for a period of more than 90 days, shall, prior to the expiration of the ninety-day period, provide proof of current vaccination status to the animal licensing officer or Board of Health.
(2) 
Any person who shall bring or cause to be brought into this Township any unlicensed cat, and who shall keep same or permit same to be kept within the Township for a period of more than 10 days, shall immediately apply for a license and registration tag or sleeve for each such cat.
D. 
Application, contents, preservation of information. The application shall state the breed, sex, age, color, and markings of the cat for which a license and registration are sought, and whether it is of a longhaired or shorthaired variety; also the name, street, and post office address of the owner and the person who shall keep or harbor such cat.
E. 
License forms and tags. License forms and official tags or sleeves shall be furnished by the Township 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. No license shall be issued for any cat, unless the owner thereof provides evidence that the cat to be licensed and registered has been inoculated against rabies with a vaccine having a duration of immunity which extends, pursuant to N.J.A.C. 8:23A-4.1(a), throughout at least 10 of the 12 months of the licensing period. Cats with a duration of immunity against rabies that expires prior to the 10th month of the licensing period shall be revaccinated prior to issuance of a license. The inoculation shall be made by a duly licensed veterinarian of the State of New Jersey or by such other veterinarian permitted by law to make the same. The vaccine used must be of a type approved by the United States Department of Agriculture and administered to the animal at the dosage and route of administration in accordance with the specifications of the product label and package insert. Each cat shall be inoculated against rabies once each year, unless the veterinarian's certificate indicates a longer period of effectiveness.
G. 
Proof of licensing: Proof of licensing shall be produced by any person owning, keeping, maintaining, or harboring a cat, upon the request of any Board of Health official, police officer, Animal Control Officer, or other person authorized by the Township or Board of Health.
H. 
Cat canvass. The Animal Control Officer is authorized to conduct a canvass of all cats owned, kept and harbored within the Township. Any such canvass conducted shall include the preparation of a report, provided to the Township Clerk and Board of Health, setting forth the names and addresses of persons owning, keeping or harboring cats that have not been licensed and/or vaccinated against rabies and the number of such cats owned, kept or harbored by each of the persons, together with the complete description of each unlicensed or unvaccinated cat.
A. 
License fee schedule. The fee for the license and registration of any cat required by the provisions of this article shall be the same as the total fee due and owing for the license and registration of any dog under Article II of this chapter.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Current fees are on file in the Township offices.
B. 
Agricultural fee limitation. The total annual license and registration fee for those persons who own, keep or harbor more than three cats of licensing age on property that has qualified for farmland assessment under the Farmland Assessment Act, N.J.S.A. 54:4-23.1 et seq., shall be limited to the cost of three licenses, with the licensing fee waived for each additional license obtained.
[Added 10-5-2009 by Ord. No. 2009-02[2]]
(1) 
To qualify for the fee limitation and waiver under the provisions of this subsection, the person applying for said cat licenses shall be required to provide with the completed license application form a copy of his or her current year's tax bill or other proof that the property has qualified for farmland assessment under the Farmland Assessment Act, N.J.S.A. 54:4-23.1 et seq.
(2) 
No other fees or assessments required by this article, including but not limited to, late fees and/or replacement tag fees, shall be altered, amended or waived by the provisions of this subsection.
[2]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also provided for the redesignation of Subsections B and C as Subsections C and D, respectively.
C. 
Responsibility for payment of license fees; renewal of license; expiration date of license; license from another municipality accepted.
(1) 
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 the license, registration tag or sleeve and renewal thereof shall expire on December 31 in the following year.
(2) 
Only one license and registration tag or sleeve shall be required in the licensing year for any cat in this Township. Any valid New Jersey license tag or sleeve issued by a New Jersey municipality shall be accepted by the Township as evidence of compliance through the end of the license year.
D. 
Disposition of fees collected. The Board of Health recommends that the license fees and other moneys collected or received under the provisions of this article shall be forwarded to the Township's Treasurer/Chief Financial Officer and, to the extent permitted by law, be placed in a special account separate from any of the other accounts of the Township, to be used for the following purposes only: for the local prevention and control of rabies; for collecting, keeping, identifying, and returning cats found within the Township; collecting, keeping and disposing of cats liable to seizure; for administering the provisions of this article; and for any other activity, service or purchase of supplies or equipment to effectuate the purposes and intent of this article.
[Amended 10-12-2015 by Ord. No. 09-15-16]
The violation and penalty required by the provisions of this article shall be the same as the violation and penalty of any dog under Article II of this chapter.