[Adopted 12-20-1994 by Ord. No. 2-94]
A.
Word usage. When not inconsistent with the context,
words used in the present tense include the future; words used in
the plural number include the singular number; and words used in the
singular number include the plural number. The word "shall" is always
mandatory and not merely directory.
B.
ABANDONED CAT
CAT
KEEPER
OWNER
PERSON
POUND
PUBLIC NUISANCE
STRAY CAT
Terms defined. For the purpose of this article, the
following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
A cat of any age which shall be left unattended and at large
for a period of 72 hours or more.
Any animal of the feline species, male or female.
Any person having custody or control over a cat or permitting
a cat to remain on the premises under his control.
Every person having a right of property in such cat and every
person keeping or harboring such cat or feeding such cat for more
than 48 hours.
Any individual, firm, partnership, corporation or association
of persons.
An establishment for the confinement of cats taken into custody
by the Animal Control Officer.
A cat that damages either public or private property or harms
the lawful users or occupants thereof.
A cat having no known owner or custodian or known place of
care or shelter.
Any person who owns, keeps or harbors any cat
located within the City of New Kensington or permits a cat to enter
the corporate limits of the City of New Kensington shall exercise
sufficient and proper care and control over such animal at all times
so as to prevent the animal from becoming a public nuisance or otherwise
violating this article.
No person owning, keeping or harboring any cat
shall permit it to soil, defile or commit any nuisance on any place
where people congregate or walk or upon any public property whatsoever.
This provision shall apply to all privately owned property in the
City except the property of the owner or keeper of the cat and the
property owned or controlled by persons who have invited or permitted
the owner or keeper of a cat to bring such cat upon the premises.
No person owning or keeping a cat shall permit
such cat to become a public nuisance as defined herein.
No person shall abandon any cat of any age or
permit a cat to become a stray.
Every female cat in heat shall be confined in
a building or secure enclosure in such a manner that such female cat
cannot come into contact with another cat except for planned breeding.
The City may, by resolution, establish a pound
and/or appoint an Animal Control Officer whose duties shall include
the enforcement of the provisions of this chapter. The City may, when
authorized by resolution, contract with the Animal Control Officer
for the collection, keeping, redemption or disposition of cats when
taken into custody in accordance with the provisions hereof. The Animal
Control Officer or authorized agent shall be empowered to take into
his custody and impound cats reasonably believed by him to be stray
or abandoned as defined herein and otherwise enforce the requirements
of this article.
The Animal Control Officer designated and authorized
by the City to enforce the provisions of this article shall, upon
receipt of a complaint that a violation has taken place, investigate
the complaint and, if a violation is found by him to exist, issue
a summons to the owner or keeper or, if the cat is a stray or abandoned
cat, take such cat into custody for a period of seven days prior to
disposition by him in accordance with the provisions of this article.
In addition, any cat that is the subject of a complaint may be taken
into custody if it bears any identification of ownership and has a
known owner or keeper but such owner or keeper cannot be located after
reasonable efforts are made by the Animal Control Officer to deliver
such cat to the owner or keeper.
If a cat bearing identification or evidence
of ownership or place of abode is taken into custody pursuant to the
provisions of this article, the Animal Control Officer or other authorized
person shall immediately thereafter notify the owner or occupant of
such place where the animal is found and taken into custody and that
it may be claimed at a designated location subject to the charges
and fees hereinafter set forth. The Animal Control Officer shall maintain
a record of such notifications, including the date and names and addresses
of persons notified.
During the aforementioned seven-day custodial
period, any cat so taken into custody may be claimed by its owner
upon payment to the Animal Control Officer or other authorized person
of all reasonable expenses incurred by reason of its detention and
care, not to exceed the sum of $5 for the taking into custody and
maintenance of said cat for the first 12 hours, plus the sum of $1
for each additional day or any fraction thereof that said cat has
been taken into custody. In addition to the foregoing charges and
fees, a summons may be issued for the violation to a person who claims
such cat as its owner or keeper.
Any cat which has been taken into custody pursuant
to this article and which has not been reclaimed during the custodial
period may be claimed by any person willing to assume the responsibility
of ownership and custodial charges as set forth above. Otherwise,
the cat may be disposed of in as humane a manner as possible and in
accordance with euthanasia procedures recommended by the American
Veterinary Medical Association.
The Animal Control Officer or his authorized
agent or any municipal officer or agent authorized and empowered to
perform any duty under this article is hereby authorized to enter
upon any premises to enforce the provisions of this article.
No more than four cats shall be kept, maintained
or harbored for more than 90 days in any residential housing unit
or on its grounds. This provision shall not apply to cats which have
been owned prior to the effective date of this chapter.
Whoever violates any provision of this article
shall be fined not more than $600, and costs of prosecution, and,
in default of payment thereof, shall be imprisoned for not more than
90 days. Each day's continuance of a violation after conviction shall
constitute a separate offense.
