Township of Morris, NJ Article III Cats

[Adopted 3-14-1990 by Ord. No. 4-90 (Ch. 100 of the 1969 Code)]

§ 514-24 Definitions.

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

ANIMAL CONTROL OFFICER

Any person or agency designated or certified by the State of New Jersey to enforce the provisions of this article.[1]

CAT

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

CAT OF LICENSING AGE

Any cat which has attained the age of six months or which possesses a set of permanent teeth.

[Amended 9-18-2002 by Ord. No. 14-02]

CATTERY

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 Board of Health of the Township of Morris, or any designated representative thereof.

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. Any person that regularly feeds, shelters or cares for a cat shall be deemed the owner of that cat.

[Amended 9-18-2002 by Ord. No. 14-02]

PERSON

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

STRAY

Any cat of licensing age without a current registration tag, visible tattoo or other bodily identification marking approved by the Animal Control Officer or any cat which the Animal Control Officer has reason to believe is a stray cat.

[Amended 9-18-2002 by Ord. No. 14-02]

[1] Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. III).

§ 514-25 Vaccination and licensing required.

A. Vaccination and license requirements. No person shall own, keep, harbor or maintain any cat over six months of age within the Township of Morris 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 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.[1]

[1] Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. III).

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 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 Board of Health of the Township of Morris 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.

§ 514-26 Licensing requirements.

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 licensing authority 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 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 10 days after such acquisition or age attainment. This requirement will not apply to a nonresident keeping a cat within the Township of Morris for no longer than 90 days.

C. Cats brought into jurisdiction. Any person who shall bring in or cause to be brought in to the Township of Morris any cat licensed in another state for the current year, and bearing registration tag or sleeve, and who shall keep the same or permit the same to be kept within the Township of Morris for a period of more than 90 days shall immediately apply for a license and registration tag or sleeve for each such cat. Any person who shall bring in or cause to be brought in to the Township of Morris any unlicensed cat and who shall keep the same or permit the same to be kept within the Township of Morris 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 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. The information on said application and the registration number issued for the cat shall be preserved for a period of three years by the local official designated to license cats in the municipality.

E. License forms and tags. License forms and official tags or sleeves shall be furnished by the licensing authority 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 licensing authority shall grant 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 § 514-25 of this article. The rabies inoculation shall be administered by a duly licensed veterinarian permitted by law to do the same.

G. License fee schedule. A license shall be issued after payment of a fee of $15 for each cat that is spayed or neutered and a fee of $18 for each cat that is not spayed or neutered. Persons who fail to obtain a license as required within the time period specified in this section shall be subject to a late fee of $20.

[Amended 5-17-2006 by Ord. No. 11-06; 5-16-2007 by Ord. No. 16-07; 7-21-2010 by Ord. No. 12-10]

H. Fees; renewals; expiration date of license. Licenses 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 the 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 January 1 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 of Morris. Any valid New Jersey license tag or sleeve issued by a 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 licensing authority may issue a duplicate license and/or registration tag or sleeve for the particular cat for a fee of $0.50.

J. Proof of license. Proof of cat 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 Township of Morris and shall be placed in a special account separate from any of the other accounts of the Township of Morris 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, providing antirabies treatment under the direction of the Board of Health for any person known or suspected to have been exposed to rabies and for administering the provisions of this article. 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 the third 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.

§ 514-27 Seizure and impoundment procedures.

[Amended 9-18-2002 by Ord. No. 14-02]

A. Seizure. The Animal Control Officer shall take into custody and impound:

(1) Any cat running at large in the Township or off the premises of the owner causing injury to a person or other domestic animal, or creating a threat to public health, safety or welfare, as deemed by the health authority or Animal Control Officer.

(2) Any cat believed to be a stray by the Animal Control Officer.

B. If any cat seized wears a current registration tag or other proper identification marking, the Animal Control Officer shall serve a notice in writing to the owner. The notice shall state that the cat has been seized and will be liable to be placed for adoption or euthanized if not claimed within seven days after the service of the notice.

C. Placing for adoption or euthanization. When any cat so seized has been detained for seven days after notice, or has been detained for seven days after seizure when no notice has been given because of lack of name and address of owner, and if the owner or person keeping or harboring the cat has not claimed the cat and paid all expenses incurred by reason of its detention, the ownership of the cat shall transfer to the agency providing animal control services to the Township of Morris.

D. The owner shall be responsible for all fees incurred by reason of its detention. Such fees must be paid to the impoundment facility prior to the release of the cat.

E. If an animal is adopted, at the time of adoption, the right of ownership in the animal shall transfer to the new owner. No cat or other animal so caught and detained or procured, obtained, sent or brought to a pound or shelter shall be sold or otherwise made available for the purpose of experimentation.

§ 514-28 Cat nuisances.

[Added 9-18-2002 by Ord. No. 14-02]

Any cat causing the destruction of private or public property or injury to a person or other domestic animal, creating a threat to public health, safely or welfare, causing damage to any lawn, shrubbery, flowers, grounds, trees or otherwise interfering with the enjoyment of property shall be declared a nuisance.

§ 514-29 Number of cats restricted.

[Amended 9-18-2002 by Ord. No. 14-02]

No person shall keep, harbor or maintain more than six cats of licensing age at any one time in any residence or upon its grounds, or in any business establishment or upon its grounds. Any person who, on the effective date of this section, is the owner of a lawfully licensed cat in excess of six may continue to keep, care for, own and maintain all said licensed cats but may not replace any such cat in excess of six. This shall not apply to duly licensed veterinary establishments.

§ 514-30 Violations and penalties.

[Amended 9-18-2002 by Ord. No. 14-02]

Any person who violates or fails or refuses to comply with this article shall be liable for a penalty not less than $5 and not more than $500. Such penalties shall be subject to enforcement in accordance with Title 26 of the New Jersey Statutes, as the same may now or be hereafter amended.