Alachua County, FL Animal Ordinances: Cat Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Preferred protocol
- Sterilize, ear-tip, vaccinate, return to original site
- Exemption for compliant cats
- No licensing, stray, or at-large citation
- Colony site requirement
- Private property with owner's permission, or permitted public property
- Indoor harboring
- Violation unless for veterinary/medical care
- Enforcing agency
- Alachua County Animal Resources
Summary
Alachua County Code § 72.25 makes sterilize-ear tip-vaccinate-return the county's preferred response to outdoor community cats, exempting compliant cats from licensing and at-large provisions that apply to owned animals. Colony caregivers must feed, water, and shelter properly and pursue trap-neuter-return for newly arriving cats; harboring an ear-tipped community cat inside a residence is itself a violation unless for veterinary care.
(a)The county recognizes the need for innovation in addressing the issues presented by the permanent presence and uncontrolled reproduction of community cats living outdoors, independent of human intervention.(b)Community cat management, in which the community cat is sterilized, ear-tipped, vaccinated against the threat of rabies, and returned to the original location, is the preferred response to a community cat. If these requirements are met, the community cat is exempted from licensing, stray, at-large, abandonment, and possibly other provisions of this ordinance that apply to owned animals....(f)It is a violation of this section for an individual or other legal entity to Harbor an ear-tipped community cat inside a residential building, unless the purpose is to provide veterinary care or treat a medical condition for such animal.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 63).
Full Breakdown
25 creates a formal community cat management framework inside Chapter 72's animal control scheme for unincorporated Alachua County. 25(b), a community cat that is sterilized, ear-tipped, vaccinated against rabies, and returned to the location where it was found is exempted from the licensing, stray, at-large, and abandonment provisions that otherwise apply to owned domestic animals. 25(c) requires animal resources to evaluate its health and temperament, sterilize, ear-tip, and vaccinate cats found to be thriving outdoors, and return them to their original location; an already ear-tipped cat that is trapped must be released on site unless it needs veterinary care.
25(d) authorizes trap-neuter-return programs run by animal resources, veterinary providers, or animal welfare organizations for free-roaming cats not tied to a known colony. 25(e) requires the colony to sit on private property with the owner's or manager's permission (or on public property with permission), and requires caregivers to supply proper food in proper containers, clean potable water, unobtrusive and safely sized shelter, and a good-faith effort to trap and sterilize newly arriving cats. 21, animal resources works with residents, welfare organizations, and caregivers on mitigation, education, or relocation rather than automatic removal.
25(f) separately makes it a violation to harbor an ear-tipped community cat inside a residential building except to provide veterinary care or treat a medical condition, reinforcing that these animals are meant to remain outdoor cats even when a caregiver is looking after them.
Violations & Fines
Harboring an ear-tipped community cat indoors outside the medical-care exception under § 72.25(f), or a colony's failure to meet the care standards in § 72.25(e), is a violation enforceable by Alachua County Animal Resources and, where a colony rises to a documented nuisance under § 72.21, may trigger the county's nuisance mitigation process. Chapter 72 violations carry the general penalty of Alachua County Code § 10.08: up to a $500.00 fine, up to 60 days in jail, or both.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to license a community cat I feed outdoors?
Can I keep a colony of community cats on my property in Alachua County?
What happens if I bring an ear-tipped community cat inside my house?
What does Alachua County do if my community cat colony bothers neighbors?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Alachua County
Florida rules heatmap·Compare Alachua County to another location·View the Florida animal ordinances overview
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