Birmingham, AL Animal Ordinances: Cat Rules (2026)

Chapter 1 of Title 6 (Animals and Fowl) treats cats the same as dogs for licensing and control purposes. Section 6-1-12 bars any owner from possessing, keeping or harboring a dog or cat over three months old that has not been inoculated against rabies within the preceding 12 months and tagged as required by Code of Ala. 1975, §§ 3-7-2 and 3-7-4. A business that breeds, buys, sells or boards cats needs a separate kennel license from the director of finance under Section 6-1-13; there is no individual registration tag fee spelled out for a household pet cat beyond the rabies tag itself.

When a cat is impounded, Section 6-1-18 lets the animal control center hold it in the animal control center for a minimum of three days before disposition, and Section 6-1-19 bars release of any impounded animal over three months old without proof of rabies inoculation. Under Section 6-1-20, an owner must pay the board fee, the inoculation fee if the cat was not already current, the impounding fee and any emergency veterinary cost to the director of finance before reclaiming the animal. If a cat is not reclaimed within the three-day detention period, Section 6-1-19(b)(3) lets the supervisor either humanely destroy it or transfer ownership to the humane society, a state adoption society, or a new suitable owner willing to complete inoculation and pay the fees.

The code contains no separate provision addressing outdoor or feral cat colonies, so any unowned colony cat is handled exactly like a stray under these impoundment rules rather than through a managed-colony exemption.