Porter County, IN Animal Ordinances: Cat Rules (2026)

Sec. " Sec. 4-2 defines "ear-tipping" as "removing approximately one-quarter-inch off the tip of a cat's left ear while the cat is anesthetized, for the purpose of identifying the cat as a sterilized animal," and defines a "colony" as "a group of one or more free-roaming cats/feral cats, whether unmanaged or managed," cared for by a "colony caretaker" who provides food, water and shelter. Sec. " Under Sec. 4-13(b), an impounded free-roaming cat that already "bears an appropriate ear-tipping indicating it belongs to a managed colony" may, at animal control's discretion, be returned to its colony rather than processed for adoption or destruction, unless illness or injury poses an imminent public-health danger.

Cats still must not create a "public nuisance" as defined in Sec. 4-2 (molesting passers-by, damaging property, excessive noise, or unsanitary conditions), and the curbing requirement in Sec. 4-6 still applies to cat waste on public or private property.