Citrus County, FL Animal Ordinances: Cat Rules (2026)

Section 14-58 makes it a violation "for any person who owns, harbors, or keeps any unsterilized cat three months of age or older to allow or permit such unsterilized cat to be or remain outdoors," with no exception listed in the section itself. Section 14-41 separately requires the owner, harborer or caretaker of a cat or dog in heat to "humanely and securely confine" the animal indoors or in a locked structure that keeps a male out and the female from escaping; a leash, fence, open kennel or open run does not satisfy this.

If a female must be released for excretion, breeding or a veterinary visit, the owner must keep physical control at six feet or less. Intentional consensual breeding in a controlled setting is exempt. Section 14-33 also builds sterilization into licensing: registration and tag fees are set at a higher rate for intact cats and dogs than for sterilized ones, and animals redeemed from impoundment must generally be sterilized before release unless an exception applies. Under Section 14-63, this animal control article is "a uniform ordinance applicable in all unincorporated areas of the county," and it additionally applies inside incorporated Crystal River and Inverness wherever no conflicting city ordinance exists, unlike most other chapters of the county code that stop at the city line.