Catoosa County, GA Animal Ordinances: Cat Rules (2026)

Catoosa County requires every dog and cat over 90 days old kept in the unincorporated county to be vaccinated against rabies under a schedule that follows the Compendium of Animal Rabies Prevention and Control, 2005 Edition, administered only by a licensed veterinarian (Catoosa County Code § 14-6). Once vaccinated, the cat must wear a county registration tag stamped 'Registered Catoosa County' with the current year and an individual number tying the tag to the owner (§ 14-8). The tag is valid for one year, and animal control will not issue it without proof of a current rabies shot.

The registration fee is $5.00 for an unaltered cat and $2.50 for an altered (spayed or neutered) cat; residents 65 or older pay $2.50 for an unaltered cat and nothing for an altered one, and service or law enforcement animals are registered free regardless of alteration status. Money collected funds the department of animal control's operations. Beyond licensing, § 14-9 makes the owner or keeper responsible for keeping the cat from becoming a nuisance or from endangering or injuring people or property, and for keeping it under control at all times.

The chapter's nuisance definition covers a cat defecating, urinating or destroying property belonging to someone other than the owner. Cats without a tag, or found creating a nuisance, can be impounded by the county's animal control officers or the sheriff's office, which also enforces this chapter. Violating any part of chapter 14, including the registration and rabies requirements, is punished under the county's general penalty provision, Catoosa County Code § 1-19, which sets fines up to $1,000.00 and up to 180 days in the county jail, with each day a violation continues counted as a separate offense.