Blue Hill, NE Animal Ordinances: Cat Rules (2026)

Section 3-203, Rabies Certificate; Licensing; Fee, treats cats the same as dogs throughout Article 2, Dogs and Cats. Any person who owns, keeps, or harbors a cat over the age of six months within the city must, within 30 days after acquiring the animal, obtain a license annually by or before January 15 each year. The application is made on a city-provided form stating the owner's name and address and the cat's name, breed, color and sex. A rabies vaccination certificate effective for the current license year must be shown before a license or tag issues, and if the cat has been spayed or neutered, a veterinarian's signed statement verifying that must also be presented.

Under § 3-203(B) the city clerk collects a fee set by Council resolution, issues a license certificate and metallic tag, and remits part of the fee to the state's Commercial Dog and Cat Operator Inspection Program Cash Fund. The tax becomes delinquent after January 31, or 15 days after acquisition for cats brought into the city after January 15 (§ 3-203(C)). Section 3-202 separately requires rabies vaccination for every cat, with unvaccinated cats acquired or moved into the city vaccinated within 30 days, and exempts cats present fewer than 30 days for shows, hunting or temporary residency.

Service cats must still be licensed but pay no tax (§ 3-203(E)). Blue Hill's code has no separate feral-colony provision; unlicensed or unrestrained cats fall under the running-at-large and impoundment sections instead.