Chapter 178 Cats

The words "and" and "or" may be used interchangeably, and either of the two (2) may be applicable, whichever is more conducive towards the effectuating of this chapter.

Personal pronouns shall mean either the singular or the plural, whichever is applicable and conducive towards the effectuating of this chapter.

§ 178-5 Time limit for license application.

The masculine, feminine or the neuter gender shall be implied, whichever is appropriate and conducive for the effectuating of this chapter.

§ 178-2 License required.

No person shall keep or harbor any cat within the City of Perth Amboy in the County of Middlesex without first obtaining a license therefor, to be issued by the Clerk of the city upon application by the owner and payment of the prescribed fee, and no person shall keep or harbor any cat in said city except in compliance with the provisions of this chapter.

§ 178-3 Application.

Any person who shall own, keep or harbor a cat of licensing age shall in the month of January 1991 and annually thereafter apply for and procure from the Clerk of the city a license and official metal registration tag for each such cat so owned, kept or harbored and shall place upon each such cat a collar with the registration tag securely fastened thereto.

§ 178-4 Fees; proof of license.

The person applying for the license and registration tag shall pay a fee of ten dollars ($10) for each unneutered cat and seven dollar ($7) for each neutered cat, and for each annual renewal, the fee for the license shall be the same as for the original license, and said licenses and renewals thereof shall expire on the last day of January in each year.

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.

In the event that the metal registration tag is lost, such tag may be replaced upon application to the City Clerk and upon the payment of a fee of one dollar ($1).

The owner of any newly acquired cat of licensing age or of any cat which attains licensing age shall make application for the license and registration tag for such cat within ten (10) days after such acquisition or age attainment.

§ 178-6 Information required on application.

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 applicant, in compliance with P L. 1973, Chapter 263 of the State of New Jersey,[1] shall offer proof that said cat has received an antirabies inoculation which is still effective.

[1]

Editors Note: See N.J.S.A. 4:19-15.2a.

The information on said application and the registration number issued for the cat shall be preserved for a period of three (3) years by the City Clerk. In addition, he shall forward similar information to the State Department of health each month on forms furnished by said Department. Registration numbers shall be issued in the order of the applications.

§ 178-7 Licensed and unlicensed cats brought into city.

Any person who shall bring or cause to be brought into the City of Perth Amboy in the County of Middlesex any cat licensed in another state for the current year and bearing a registration tag and who shall keep the same or permit the same to be kept within the city for a period of more than ninety (90) days shall immediately apply for a license and registration tag for each such cat, unless such cat is licensed under § 178-9 of this chapter.

Any person who shall bring or cause to be brought into the city any unlicensed cat and shall keep the same or permit the same to be kept within the city for a period of more than ten (10) days shall immediately apply for a license and registration tag for each such cat, unless such cat is licensed under § 178-9 of this chapter.

§ 178-8 Removal of tag.

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.

§ 178-9 Accounts.

License fees and other moneys collected or received under the provisions of this chapter shall be forwarded to the Treasurer of the City of Perth Amboy and shall be placed in a special account separate from any of the other accounts of the City of Perth Amboy and shall be used for the following purposes only: collecting, keeping and disposing of cats liable to seizure; the local prevention and control of rabies, provided antirabies treatment under the direction of the Board of Health for any person known or suspected to have exposed to rabies; and for administering the provisions of this chapter. 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 city any amount then in such account which is in excess of the total amount paid into said special account during the last two (2) fiscal years next preceding.

§ 178-10 Violations and penalties.

[Amended 2-22-2006 by Ord. No. 1334-2006]

Any person who shall violate any of the provisions of this article shall, upon conviction, be punishable by a fine not less than one hundred dollars ($100) or more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) or by imprisonment for a term not to exceed ten (10) days, or by both such fine and imprisonment and each day that a violation continues shall be deemed to constitute a separate offense.

§ 178-11 Number of cats permitted.

[Added 2-22-2006 by Ord. No. 1334-2006]

A property within the City of Perth Amboy shall be limited to five (5) cats, with the exception of those having a valid commercial kennel license. Apartment complexes shall be exempted from this section, subject to the requirements of such apartment complex.

§ 178-12 Application for wavier.

[Added 2-22-2006 by Ord. No. 1334-2006]

An owner desirous of owning and maintaining a number of cats in excess of that permitted by this chapter shall have the right to make application to the City of Perth Amboy Council for a waiver of the maximum number of animals permitted under this chapter. The application for a hearing before the City Council must be submitted not less than ten (10) days prior to a regularly scheduled City Council meeting, with notice published in the official newspaper of the City of Perth Amboy ten (10) days prior to said meeting, and giving written notice to all property owners within two hundred (200) feet of the applicant's property. The applicant shall obtain a certified list of all property owners within two hundred (200) feet of his/her property from the City of Perth Amboy Tax Assessor's office.

Type of notice.

Notice must be made to all property owners within two hundred (200) feet of the applicant's property by regular and certified mail, return receipt requested, with proof of service being presented to the City Council at the time of the hearing with an affidavit setting forth the mailing has been made to the appropriate property owners.

Form of notice.

The notice shall set forth the following:

Name and address of the applicant.

If different than Section 178-12B(1)(a) above, the address and lot and block number of the household or dwelling unit for which the applicant is requesting a number of cats in excess of the chapter requirement.

The nature of the waiver requested, setting forth the number of cats requested in excess of the chapter requirement.

The date, time and place of the hearing before the City Council.

Considerations for granting of waiver, burden of proof and vote.

By majority vote of quorum of the City Council, the Council may grant or deny an application for a request for a waiver based upon a preponderance of evidence that the applicant has demonstrated good cause for the granting of such waiver. In examining whether or not a waiver should be granted, the City Council shall consider the following:

The size of the property of the applicant where the animals are intended to be kept.

The distance between the location of where the animals are intended to be kept on the applicant's property and the physical location of an adjacent property owner's home or dwelling unit.

Whether the applicant's household is an apartment, condominium or townhouse or a single-family detached dwelling.

Whether the applicant's property is fenced so as to shield the cats from the sight of the surrounding property owners.

(e)

Whether the cats are kept in the applicant's home or remain primarily outside of the applicant's home.

(f)

The breed and size of the cat.

(g)

The prior history of complaints filed against the applicant for violation of this chapter.

(h)

The zoning district of the applicant's property.

(i)

Whether the animal serve some purpose related to the applicant's use of his/her property, i.e., whether the cats are utilized for rodent control.

(j)

For other such reasons as the Council may feel appropriate to consider according to the case, facts and circumstances presented to the Council.

State number of animals.

Should the Council grant the applicant's request for a waiver, the Council shall set the number of cats permitted for the applicant's household or dwelling unit in excess of that permitted by the chapter.

Revocation of water.

§ 178-13 through § 178-14. (Reserved)

A waiver granted by the City Council to an applicant for a waiver may be revoked by the Council by proper application made by a City official, member of the City Police Department or an individual by making application to the City Council at least ten (10) days prior to a City Council meeting and by serving notice upon the owner by regular and certified mail, return receipt requested, of the application for revocation of the waiver. The notice shall also include a factual basis for the requested revocation. A hearing shall then be held by the City Council on the application for revocation. The Council will evaluate the application for revocation of waiver based upon the same criteria previously set forth herein under Section 178-12C(1)(a) through (j) of this chapter.

Article II Trap, Neuter and Release Program

[Adopted 11-9-2015 by Ord. No. 1793-2015]

§ 178-15 Definitions.

For the purpose of this Article, the following terms shall have the meaning set forth in this section. When not inconsistent with the context, words used in the present tense include the future, words in the plural number include the singular, words in the singular number include the plural, and words in the male gender include the female gender.

ABANDONED — An owner or caregiver has forsaken a domesticated cat entirely, or has neglected or refused to provide care and support to the cat.

ANIMAL CONTROL OFFICER — Any person employed or appointed by the City who is authorized to investigate violations of laws and regulations concerning animals, and to issue citations in accordance with New Jersey law and this Code.

FERAL CAT CAREGIVER — Any person, who in accordance with a good faith effort to trap, neuter, vaccinate, and return the feral cat, provides volunteer care to a feral cat.

DOMESTICATED CAT — A cat that is socialized to humans and is appropriate as a companion for humans.

EAR TIP — A mark, identifying a feral cat as being in a TNR program, specifically, the removal of approximately three-eighths of an inch off the tip of the cat's left ear in a straight line performed by a licensed veterinarian.

FERAL CAT — A cat that is unsocialized to people and typically avoids contact with humans.

FERAL CAT COLONY — A group of cats that congregates, more or less, together as a unit. Although not every cat in a colony may be feral, any non-feral cats that congregate with a colony shall be deemed to be a part of it.

NUISANCE — Disturbing the peace by:

Habitually or continually howling, crying or screaming; or

§ 178-16 Responsibilities of owners of domesticated cats.

The habitual and significant destruction, desecration or soiling of property against the wishes of the owner of the property.

OWNER — Any person, firm, corporation, partnership, association, trust, estate, or any other legal entity.

RESCUE GROUP — A for-profit or not-for-profit entity or a collaboration of individuals with at least one of its purposes being the adoption or placement of cats in homes with humans to serve as companion animals.

STRAY CAT — A cat that is regularly off the property of the owner, is not under the physical control and restraint of the owner, and is not regularly provided with food by its owner.

SUITABLE SHELTER — Shelter that provides protection from rain, sun, and other elements that is adequate to protect the health of the cat.

TRAP-NEUTER-RETURN/TNR — A nonlethal approach to feral cat population control where feral cats are trapped, sterilized and vaccinated, ear tipped, and then returned to the location where they were originally trapped.

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

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

The owner of a domesticated cat shall exercise reasonable care to guard against the cat creating a nuisance.

The owner of a sexually intact (not spayed or neutered) domesticated cat shall not permit his/her cat to roam unsupervised.

An owner shall not abandon a domesticated cat.

§ 178-17 Feral cat colonies.

Feral cat colonies shall be permitted and caregivers shall be entitled to maintain them in accordance with the terms and conditions of this Article.

Sponsorship of Colony TNR Programs:

The Perth Amboy Animal Control is approved as a sponsor. Other persons may apply to the City to serve as Colony TNR Program Sponsors ("sponsors"). Any person or entity so applying shall comply with the requirements of this Article for sponsors and execute a Perth Amboy Animal Control-approved sponsor contract. Any person intending to undertake the responsibilities of sponsor shall advise the Perth Amboy Animal Control in writing and provide his/her/its address and telephone number.

Sponsor requirements. It shall be the duty of the sponsor to:

Review and approve of colony caregivers;

Help to resolve any complaints over the conduct of a colony caregiver or of cats within a colony.

Maintain records provided by colony caregivers on the size and location of the colonies as well as the vaccination and spray/neuter records of cats in the sponsor's colonies; and

(4)

Report annually to the City on the following:

Number of colonies in the City;

Total number of cats in colonies;

Number of cats and kittens spayed and neutered pursuant to the TNR program; and

Number of cats and kittens placed in permanent homes.

(5)

Use due consideration to avoid the taking of rare, threatened or endangered species under the Endangered and Non-game Species Conservation Act, N.J.S.A. 23:2A-1, et seq.

Feral cat caregiver requirements:

Caregivers are responsible for the following:

Registering the feral cat colony with the sponsor;

Taking steps that are reasonably likely to result in the vaccination of the colony population for rabies and making reasonable efforts to update the vaccinations on cats that can be recaptured;

Taking steps that are reasonably likely to result in the spay/neuter, by a licensed veterinarian, of at least ninety percent (90%) of the colony population;

Providing the sponsor with descriptions of each cat in the colony and copies of documents evidencing that the cats have been vaccinated and spayed/neutered;

(e)

Providing food, water and, if feasible, shelter for colony cats;

(f)

Observing the colony cats at least twice per week and keeping a record of any illnesses or unusual behavior noticed in any colony cats;

(g)

Obtaining the approval of the owner of any property, to which the caregiver requires access to provide colony care;

(h)

In the event that kittens are born to a colony cat, the caregiver shall take reasonable steps likely to result in the removal of the kittens from the colony after they have been weaned, and the placement of the kittens in homes or foster homes for the purpose of subsequent permanent placement;

(i)

Reporting annually in writing to the sponsor on the status of the colony, including data on the number and gender of all cats in the colony, the number of cats that died or otherwise ceased being a part of the colony during the year; the number of kittens born to colony cats and their disposition and the number of cats and kittens placed in permanent homes as companion cats; and

(j)

Obtaining proper medical attention to any colony cat that appears to require it.

Colony cat requirements:

The left ear of a colony cat that has been spayed or neutered and vaccinated shall be ear-tipped.

An Electronic Animal Identification Device ("EAID") shall be inserted into the cat by a veterinarian in accordance with professional medical standards. The sponsor shall be the named contact for purposes of the EAID.

Disposition of colony cats.

An Animal Control Officer who has trapped a cat whose left ear has been tipped or which bears some other distinguishing mark indicating that it belongs to a feral cat colony shall scan the cat for an EAID. If an EAID is found, the officer shall be responsible for contacting the sponsor or other person named as owner of the cat.

If the owner or sponsor is not able to immediately take custody of the cat, the officer shall return the cat to the appropriate colony.

If the cat does not have an EAID then the Animal Control Officer shall contact the sponsor so the cat can be properly placed in a colony. If the cat is obviously a domestic cat the sponsor shall arrange for care for the cat until the owner is located and may determine the disposition of the cat in those circumstances where the domestic cat's owner cannot be located.

§ 178-18 Article enforcement.

The City shall have the following rights:

The right to seize or remove cats from a colony that have not been vaccinated against rabies and which are demonstrating signs of the disease.

The right to seize or remove a cat from a colony that is creating a nuisance as defined above and the caregiver and sponsor have been given sixty (60) days to remove and relocate the cat and have failed to do so.