[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Health of the Township of Freehold as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Animals — See Ch. 79.
[Adopted by Ord. No. BH-01-91 (Ch. BH-XI of the Revised General Ordinances)]
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
CAT
Any member of the feline species, male or female.
OWNER
Includes the person or persons owning, controlling, keeping or harboring a cat.
RUN AT LARGE
Applies to any cat off and not on the premises of the owner.
STRAY CAT
A cat having no known owner, custodian or identification.
A. 
All cats over the age of six months must receive a rabies inoculation. The owner must retain appropriate documentation from the inoculating veterinarian or rabies clinic indicating that the cat in question has received said inoculation. Such documentation must be made available to any agent or employee of the Township of Freehold charged with the responsibility of controlling or regulating animals upon request by said agent or employee. Any cat which has not been inoculated or is not exempt from inoculation pursuant to the terms of this article is subject to confiscation by agents and employees of the Township of Freehold. Any cat confiscated shall be impounded and can only be reclaimed by the owner after the owner renders payment of all fees attendant upon the confiscation and impoundment of said animal together with payment for the inoculation required by this article.
B. 
The inoculation required by this article shall be performed by a duly licensed veterinarian of the State of New Jersey, or by such other persons as may be permitted to inoculate animals pursuant to the laws of the State of New Jersey. The vaccination used must be of the type approved by the United States government agency responsible for licensing manufacturers of veterinary biologicals. Each cat shall be inoculated against rabies annually unless the veterinarian's certificate required by this article indicates a longer period of effectiveness for the inoculation.
C. 
Exemptions to the rabies inoculation requirement:
(1) 
A cat which has not attained the age of six months;
(2) 
Any cat which the Department 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; or
(3) 
Cats in veterinary hospitals, kennels, pet shops, pounds or shelters, cats in transit or cats brought into the Township temporarily for the sole purpose of showing in cat shows or exhibitions.
A. 
Any cat seized and impounded pursuant to the provisions of this article will be retained at the animal pound for seven days from the date of seizure. If, after the seven-day period specified in this article, the animal is unclaimed, the Animal Control Officer or any person designated by him may cause the cat so impounded to be destroyed or disposed of in the manner provided for by the New Jersey Animal Control Act, Title 8, Chapter 23, Subchapter 23, Rules and Regulations Governing the Sanitary Conduct and Operation of Kennels, Pet Shops, Shelters and Pounds.
B. 
The owner or any person having lawful rights to any impounded cat shall be entitled to redeem said cat upon furnishing satisfactory evidence of such ownership to the Animal Control Officer. Any cat so redeemed must receive a rabies inoculation, or, in the alternative, the person claiming the animal must submit proof that the animal has received a rabies inoculation.
C. 
Any person redeeming any cat seized pursuant to the terms of this article shall pay a redemption fee of $25 to the Township of Freehold and shall be responsible for all charges levied by the pound.
Any person who is convicted of violating any provision of this article shall, upon conviction, be punishable as provided in Chapter 361, Article I, General Penalty.
[Adopted 6-14-2007 by Ord. No. BH-07-03]
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
CAT
Any domestic or feral cat, neutered, spayed or otherwise.
CAT OF LICENSING AGE
Any cat which has attained the age of seven months or which possesses a set of permanent teeth.
KEEPER
Any person exercising control over a cat or permitting a cat to remain on premises under his or her control.
OWNER
When applied to the proprietorship of a cat, means and includes every person having a right of property in the cat and every person who has a cat in his or her keeping.
RUN-AT-LARGE
Applies to any cat off and not on the premises of the owner.
STRAY CAT
A cat having no known owner, custodian or identification.
A. 
License, when required. Licenses shall be required for the following cats of licensing age:
(1) 
Any cat owned or kept within the Township on the first day of March of any year;
[Amended 10-8-2009 by Ord. No. BH-09-01]
(2) 
Any unlicensed cat acquired by any person during the course of any year and kept within the Township for more than 10 days after acquisition;
(3) 
Any cat attaining licensing age during the course of the year;
(4) 
Any licensed cat brought into the Township by any person and kept within the Township for more than 10 days shall be registered with the Township. No additional licensing shall be required;
(5) 
Any cat licensed by another state brought into the Township by any person and kept within the Township for more than 90 days.
B. 
Application for license. Each application for license under this article shall give the following information:
(1) 
The general description of the cat sought to be licensed, including breed, sex, age, color and marking, and whether the cat is of long- or short-haired variety;
(2) 
Name, street, and post office address and telephone number of the owner of and a person who shall keep or harbor the cat;
(3) 
A certificate of duly licensed veterinarian which shall provide 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 Health, Education and Welfare, or any other agency exercising jurisdiction thereof, or has been certified exempt as provided by the regulations of the New Jersey State Department of Health or other agency which exercises jurisdiction. Such certificate shall be in accordance with all state regulations, providing for duration of immunity, interval of inoculation, certificate of vaccination or certificate of exemption. In the event such certificate is not presented to the Health Officer, a license will not be issued. Registration numbers shall be issued in the order the applications are received.
C. 
Application for license, when made. Applications for licenses for cats which are required to be licensed by the provisions of this article shall be made before the 1st day of March of each calendar year. In all other cases, the application for a license shall be made within 10 days of the date upon which the cat in question first becomes subject to the provisions of this article.
D. 
License record. The information on all applications under this article and the registration number issued to each licensed cat shall be preserved for a period of three years by the Health Officer.
E. 
Fees. The person applying for a license shall pay a fee of $11 for each cat. The same fee shall be charged for the annual renewal of each license. Each person registering a cat of reproductive age which has not had its reproductive capacity permanently altered through sterilization shall be required to pay an additional fee of $19. In the event the state legislature establishes a fee for registration tags for cats, the same shall be charged accordingly.
[Amended 3-8-2012 by Ord. No. BH-12-01]
F. 
Expiration date. Each cat license and registration tag shall expire on the last day of April of the calendar year following the calendar year in which it was issued.
G. 
Exceptions. The provisions of this article shall not apply to any cat licensed under any kennel, pet shop, shelter or pound license issued by the Township.
H. 
Disposition of fees. License fees and other moneys collected or received under the provisions of this article shall be forwarded to the Township Treasurer within 48 hours after collection or receipt and shall be placed in a special account separate from any of the other accounts of the Township and shall be used for the following purposes: Collecting, keeping and disposing of animals liable to seizure pursuant to Township ordinance; local prevention and control of rabies; providing anti-rabies treatment under the direction of the local Board of Health for any persons known or suspected to have been exposed to rabies; all other purposes prescribed by the Statutes of New Jersey governing the subject; and for administering the provision of this article and that article regarding licensing of dogs.[1] Any unexpended balance remaining in the special account shall be retained therein 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 each fiscal year thereafter there shall be transferred from the special account to the general fund of the Township any amount then in the account which is in excess of the total amount being paid into the special account during the last two fiscal years next proceeding.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 79, Animals, Art. I, of this Code.
A. 
Causes for impounding. The Animal Control Officer shall take into custody and impound, or cause to be taken into custody and impounded, any of the following cats:
(1) 
Any licensed cat running at large in violation of the provisions of this article.
(2) 
Any cat off the premises of the owner of or the person keeping or harboring the cat which the Animal Control Officer or his agent has reason to believe is a stray cat.
(3) 
Any female cat in season off the premises of the owner of or the person keeping or harboring the cat.
B. 
Access to the premises. Any officer or agent authorized or empowered to perform any duty under this article is authorized to enter upon any premises to seize for impounding any cat which he or she may lawfully seize and impound when the officer is in immediate pursuit of the cat, except on the premises of the owner of the cat if the owner is present and forbids same. If any cat to be impounded or seized wears a registration tag, collar or harness showing the name and address of any person or the owner of or the person keeping or harboring the cat is known, the Animal Control Officer shall immediately serve upon 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. A notice under this subsection may be served either by delivering it to the person to whom it is 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 or her usual or last known place of abode, or to the address given on the collar.
C. 
Administrative and impound fees.
(1) 
When any cat is seized by the Animal Control Officer, the owner shall be liable to the Township for an administrative fee of $50.
(2) 
When any seized cat is not promptly claimed by its owner and the Animal Control Officer has turned the cat over for impoundment, the owner shall be liable to the Township for reimbursement of the impoundment fee charged to the Township, plus a ten-dollar processing fee.
(3) 
In the event the Township is required to initiate any action to recover any of the fees in this article, all expenses of collection, including reasonable attorney's fees, shall be the responsibility of the owner.
No persons shall own, keep or harbor a cat in the Township except in compliance with the provisions of this article and the following regulations:
A. 
Disturbing the peace. No person shall own, keep or harbor or maintain any cat which habitually cries between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. or causes such other disturbance as to create a nuisance.
B. 
Running-at-large. No person owning, keeping or harboring any cat shall permit it to run at large upon the public streets or any public park, public building or any public place within the Township.
C. 
Property damage. No person owning, keeping or harboring a cat shall permit it to do any injury or to do any damage to any lawn, shrubbery, flowers, grounds or property, person or other animal.
Where a person has been bitten by a cat, the individual or his or her parent or guardian if he or she is a minor, shall immediately notify the police. When the owner or the keeper of the cat is notified by the police that the cat has bitten any individual or individuals, the owner or keeper of the cat must comply with the following procedures:
A. 
Have the cat examined by a licensed veterinarian within 12 hours;
B. 
Have the cat kept within quarantine in the owner's home or at a kennel for a period of 10 days;
C. 
At the end of 10 days, have the cat reexamined by a veterinarian and a written report of the cat's state of health forwarded to the Board of Health.
The Animal Control Officer appointed pursuant to § 79-12 or other person duly serving as the Township's animal control officer may impound unlicensed cats running at large in violation of the provisions of this article.
A. 
Any person who violates or fails or refuses to comply with the provisions of this article shall be liable for a penalty of not less than $100 for a first offense and, for a subsequent offense, a fine of not more than $500.
B. 
In the event the person violating these provisions is under the age of 18, the parents, (joint and severally) or parent with whom the minor resides shall be liable for the penalty provisions.