Cats in Charleston County must be currently vaccinated against rabies. South Carolina law requires every pet owner to keep pets continuously protected from rabies with an approved vaccine administered by a licensed veterinarian.
South Carolina's Rabies Control Act requires that a pet owner have each pet inoculated against rabies at a frequency that provides continuous protection, using a department-approved, USDA-licensed vaccine given by or under the supervision of a licensed veterinarian. This applies to cats as well as dogs. Charleston County's animal ordinance incorporates the state vaccination duty and its at-large/nuisance rules apply to cats. The county does not impose a citywide cat-leash mandate, but a cat that becomes a nuisance or is unvaccinated can be impounded by animal control. Free-roaming and community-cat situations are handled through the Charleston Animal Society.
Failure to vaccinate a cat violates the state Rabies Control Act; unvaccinated or nuisance cats may be impounded, and owners can face misdemeanor rabies-control penalties.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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See how Charleston's cat rules rules stack up against other locations.
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