Columbus, IN Animal Ordinances: Cat Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Program
- Trap, neuter and return community cat program
- Marking
- Surgical ear-tip, sterilization and rabies vaccination
- Feeding limit
- Unlawful beyond sixty days unless in compliance with the code
- Impounded community cat
- Returned to where it was trapped, absent detriment
- Caretaker fine
- Twenty dollars first offense, capped at one thousand dollars
- Unaltered cat at large
- One hundred dollars or spay or neuter within twenty-one days
Summary
The City of Columbus, Indiana runs a trap, neuter and return community cat program. Free-roaming cats are sterilized, ear-tipped and vaccinated, then returned. Feeding or sheltering a free-roaming cat for more than sixty days is unlawful unless the caretaker follows the code. Caretaker violations carry a twenty dollar first fine.
A. A community cat program is established in order to encourage the stabilization of the free-roaming cat population in the city by utilizing a trap, neuter, and return methodology. ... D. It shall be unlawful for a person to provide food, water or shelter to a free-roaming cat for a period of more than sixty days unless in compliance with this code. The Animal Care Services Department may impound free roaming cats that are found to be in violation. ... A. A community cat caretaker shall abide by standard guidelines devised by the animal care services department regarding the provision of food, water, shelter, and veterinary care for a community cat.
Full Breakdown
Section 6.12.050 of the Columbus Municipal Code establishes a community cat program to encourage stabilization of the free-roaming cat population in the city using a trap, neuter, and return methodology. Any person can trap a free-roaming cat in a humane manner with a live release trap that does not injure the animal, in order to have it evaluated, surgically sterilized, ear-tipped and vaccinated against rabies by a licensed veterinarian. The cat is then released to the vicinity where it was trapped or released to a community cat caretaker. A community cat impounded by the Animal Care Services Department must be returned to the vicinity where it was trapped unless the circumstances present a detriment to the cat or to the public health or welfare.
Chapter 6.04 defines a community cat as an unowned, free-roaming cat marked by surgical ear-tip under the program, and a caretaker as a person who provides food, water or outdoor shelter to a community cat and is not otherwise prohibited from owning or keeping animals. Community cats are excluded from the harboring definition.
The limit on feeding sits in section 6.12.050(D): it is unlawful to provide food, water or shelter to a free-roaming cat for more than sixty days unless in compliance with the code, and Animal Care Services can impound free-roaming cats found in violation. Section 6.12.060 requires caretakers to follow the standard guidelines Animal Care Services devises for food, water, shelter and veterinary care, and to take a seriously ill or injured community cat to the Animal Care Services Center or to licensed veterinary care.
Owned cats face other rules. Every cat must wear current identification outside the home (section 6.12.010), cats three months or older need a valid rabies vaccination (section 6.12.080), and an unaltered cat found at large triggers the additional fines in section 6.08.040: one hundred dollars or a voluntary spay or neuter within twenty-one days for a first violation, and five hundred dollars or spay or neuter within twenty-one days for a second.
Violations & Fines
A community cat caretaker who violates sections 6.12.050 through 6.12.060 is subject to a fine of twenty dollars for the first offense, increasing by twenty dollars for each subsequent offense within one year, capped at one thousand dollars (section 6.12.090). Animal Care Services can impound free-roaming cats being fed or sheltered beyond sixty days outside the code. Rabies vaccination violations under section 6.12.080 start at twenty dollars, then fifty dollars for the second offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I trap a stray cat in Columbus, Indiana?
Can I feed a free-roaming cat?
What do caretakers have to do for a sick community cat?
What if my unaltered cat is found at large?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Columbus
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