[Adopted 7-12-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-15]
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
COMMUNITY CAT
Any free-roaming, feral, or barn cat that may be cared for by one or more residents of the immediate area and which has no discernible form of ownership identification.
COMMUNITY CAT CAREGIVER
A person who may provide care, including food, water, shelter or medical care, to a community cat. A community cat caregiver shall not be considered to be the owner, custodian, harborer, controller, or keeper of a community cat.
COMMUNITY CAT COLONY
A group of cats that congregates, more or less, together as a unit.
DOMESTICATED CAT
A cat that is socialized to humans and is appropriate as a companion for humans.
EARTIPPING
The removal of the one-fourth-inch tip of community cat's left ear, performed while the cat is under anesthesia by a licensed veterinarian and designed to be an indication that the community cat has been sterilized and vaccinated for rabies.
FERAL CAT
A cat that: a) is born in the wild or is the offspring of an owned or feral cat and is not socialized; b) is a formerly owned cat that has been abandoned and is no longer socialized; or c) any nonferal cat that congregates with a colony shall be deemed to be a part of the colony.
NUISANCE
Disturbing of the peace by: a) habitually or continually howling, crying or screaming, or b) the habitual and significant destruction, desecration or soiling of property against the wishes of the owner of the property.
TNR
Trap, neuter, return.
TNR PROGRAM
A program pursuant to which feral and stray cats are trapped, neutered or spayed, vaccinated against rabies and returned to the location where they congregate.
A. 
Purpose. To permit implementation of a community cat program (CCP) in Lindenwold, New Jersey, for the purpose of reducing the population of feral and free-roaming cats, benefiting public health, improving the quality of life for residents, and ensuring the humane treatment of community cats.
B. 
Implementation. The Animal Control Officer (Animal Services) shall administer and implement the programs set forth in this article in accordance with applicable guidelines and standards as set forth in state and local statutes.
C. 
Community cats.
(1) 
The following community cat requirements are hereby established:
(a) 
Community cats may be cared for on the private property of the caregiver or upon the property of another with the permission of the owner or property manager.
(b) 
All community cat caregivers shall make reasonable efforts to have all free-roaming cats within their care sterilized, vaccinated against rabies, and ear-tipped for easy identification. Community cat caregivers shall have 30 days from the time they render care to a community cat to arrange for sterilization, rabies vaccination and eartipping or to be placed on a waiting list if no appointment can be scheduled with 30 days.
(c) 
All community cat caregivers are required to make reasonable efforts to provide certain necessities to each community cat under his/her care on a regular/ongoing basis, including, but not limited to, proper nutrition, adequate quantities of visibly clean and fresh water and medical care as needed. If medical care is unavailable or too expensive, the community cat caregiver must not allow the cat to suffer. Feeding is permitted during daylight hours only. Food must be offered to cats in a container and shall not be dumped on the ground. Any food remaining after cats have eaten must be removed before dark. Feeding areas must be maintained in a clean and sanitary condition.
(d) 
Community cat caregivers shall make reasonable attempts to remove young kittens from the field for domestication.
(2) 
Community cats meeting the requirements of this section are exempt from any licensing, stray, and at-large provisions of this article.
(3) 
Animal Services shall have the right to remove or authorize the removal of any free-roaming cat or community cat because of immediate public health or safety concerns.
(4) 
No community cat shall be released at any governmentally owned or managed park or real property, natural area, area deemed as environmentally sensitive land or on any easement adjacent to such lands without approval from the Mayor and Council of the Borough of Lindenwold.
(5) 
Trapping of community cats by those who are not community cat caregivers, as defined above, or an Animal Control Officer employed by the Borough is prohibited unless the person trapping the cats is doing so for the purpose of providing medical attention for a sick or injured cat or for the purpose of TNR. Persons who trap free-roaming cats for the purpose of TNR must comply with the provisions of this article to be considered a "community cat caregiver."
(6) 
Healthy community cats shall be immediately returned to the location at which they were found, released to a caregiver or adopted. Prior to being returned to the location at which they were found or released to a caregiver, community cats shall be sterilized, eartipped while under anesthesia by a licensed veterinarian, and vaccinated for rabies. Notwithstanding the foregoing, whenever such cat is visibly injured or diseased and appears to be suffering, and it reasonably appears that such cat cannot be expeditiously cured and returned to the field, transferred to a humane society or private animal nonprofit organization or placed in foster care, then Animal Services, acting in good faith and upon reasonable belief, may humanely euthanize the cat upon the advice of a licensed veterinarian.
(7) 
Nuisance Abatement and Resolution.
(a) 
A community cat that:
[1] 
Habitually howls, squawks or causes other objectionable noise resulting in a serious annoyance to a reasonable person shall be deemed to be committing an act in violation of this section; or
[2] 
Disturbs the peace by habitually or repeatedly destroying, desecrating or soiling public or private property shall constitute a public nuisance.
(b) 
Animal Services shall investigate an alleged violation of this section upon the receipt of a sworn affidavit of complaint in a form provided by Animal Services, signed by the individual making the complaint and who resides where the violation occurred or in close vicinity of the alleged violation. For the enforcement of their affidavit, it must specify the address or location of the alleged violation, the nature, time and date(s) of the act, the name and address of the caregiver, if known, and a description of the animal, if known.
(c) 
Animal Services, upon the receipt of sworn affidavit of complaint as provided for in this section, may issue a citation to the caregiver of any animal alleged to be in violation of this section.
D. 
Domesticated cats. The owner of an unneutered domesticated cat shall not permit the cat to roam off the owner's property unsupervised.
The Office of Animal Control shall have the following rights:
A. 
The right to seize or remove cats from a colony that have not been vaccinated against rabies and which are demonstrating signs of disease.
B. 
The right to seize/remove a cat from a colony that is creating a nuisance as defined above and the caregiver has been given 15 days to remove and relocate the cat and has failed to do so.
As per Chapter 1, § 1-1: Any person(s) who is found to be in violation of the provisions of this article shall, upon conviction thereof, be subject to penalties, including:
A. 
Warning for a first offense.
B. 
Second offense: $50.
C. 
Each subsequent offense: $65.