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

Chapter 6's definitions section, § 6-1, defines a "cat colony" as two or more free-roaming, homeless, stray, feral, wild or untamed cats that feed and live in close proximity without being under a property owner's direct control, maintained instead by a colony caregiver. Section 6-115 sets four duties for anyone running such a colony in unincorporated Burke County: the colony should be registered with Animal Services, it must have a designated contact person, that person must have the property owner's permission to keep the colony on the premises, and the contact must keep a current, up-to-date log of vaccination and other records for every cat in the colony.

Chapter 6 also defines a related but separate track: the community cat program, commonly called TNR (trap-neuter-return). Under § 6-1, a community cat program is designed to eliminate impoundment of a community cat that is found ear-tipped and living in a colony already registered with Animal Services; once the caregiver produces proof of a valid rabies vaccination and sterilization, the department releases the cat back to where it was found, or to another live-outcome placement, rather than holding it. Unlike dogs, the ordinance does not require an individual license or tag for a pet or free-roaming cat, and it sets no numeric cap on how many cats a colony may hold.

General chapter 6 rules still reach colony cats: the deceased-animal burial duty in § 6-113, the nuisance and cruelty provisions elsewhere in the chapter, and the rabies-vaccination requirement for animals reclaimed from the Animal Services center in § 6-75 all apply regardless of whether a cat is owned or part of a registered colony.