Brunswick County, NC Animal Ordinances: Cat Rules (2026)

Brunswick County Code Article V defines a cat nuisance in Sec. 1-3-201 as an owner allowing a cat to repeatedly get into garbage, walk or sleep on another's vehicle, damage gardens or property, roam onto another's property, roam generally, live in unsanitary conditions offensive to sight or smell, or go unconfined while in estrus; any of these acts on more than one occasion is prima facie evidence of a nuisance. Sec. 1-3-202 makes it a violation for an owner to allow the cat to engage in those acts more than once, and Sec.

S. 67-2. On impoundment, most animals get a five-day redemption window under Sec. 1-3-552, but Sec. 1-3-553 carves out a distinct, shorter rule for feral cats: a feral cat is held only three working days for redemption by a possible owner. Before a feral cat can be euthanized, a three-person panel of Animal Protective Services staff, each with at least one year of experience, must unanimously declare it feral; if the panel cannot agree unanimously, the cat must instead be held for five days like other impounded animals.

The county's animal shelter posts instructions for how to check whether an animal has been impounded, which the code treats as sufficient notice to an unknown owner. This article applies to unincorporated Brunswick County; incorporated towns such as Oak Island, Southport and Shallotte enforce their own cat ordinances.