Rock Island County, IL Animal Ordinances: Cat Rules (2026)

County Code Sec. 021 requires every owner of a dog or cat four months or older to register the animal and pay an annual registration fee to the County Animal Control Office, tracking the State Animal Control Act, 510 ILCS 5/8. Sec. 020 pairs that with a rabies vaccination duty at the same four-month age threshold, and Sec. 008(A) sets the fee at $10 for an altered cat, $50 for an unaltered one, with a $5 late fee after 30 days; fees are due within 30 days of the rabies inoculation anniversary.

Cats fall under the same at-large ban as dogs: Sec. 065 makes it unlawful for an owner to let any cat run at large in the county, whether on public property or someone else's private land, and any cat found roaming free and uncontrolled is deemed a public nuisance and subject to impoundment. Sec. 070 additionally requires the owner of a female cat in heat to confine her in a building or secure enclosure to prevent unplanned mating, and makes the owner of a male cat that mates with a confined female financially responsible for a mismating remedy and the cost of the resulting litter.

The chapter carves out a specific protection for community cat caretakers: Sec. 005 defines OWNER to exclude a feral cat caretaker participating in a trap, spay/neuter, return, or release program, meaning someone feeding and managing a feral colony under an organized TNR program is not treated as the legal owner subject to the licensing and confinement duties above.