Darlington County, SC Animal Ordinances: Cat Rules (2026)

Chapter 6 of the Darlington County Code defines "pet" as any domesticated species of carnivore, which brings cats within the same restraint and confinement rules that apply to dogs. Section 6-14(a) requires every pet cared for by an owner to be kept under restraint or control, and any pet not so controlled is deemed unlawfully running at large. Section 6-14(f) then singles out reproduction: every female dog or cat in heat must be confined in a building or secure enclosure, or placed in a veterinary hospital or boarding kennel, in a manner that does not create a nuisance.

An animal control officer, Darlington County Sheriff's deputy, or other authorized law enforcement officer enforces the article, and under § 6-14(b) either a uniform ordinance summons may be issued to the owner or the officer may take custody of the cat, including entering private property in pursuit of it or placing a humane capture cage with the property owner's consent. A cat that is unrestrained, or a female cat in heat left unconfined, also fits the article's nuisance definition: § 6-22(b)(1) and (8) list "failing to exercise sufficient restraint" and "maintaining an unconfined pet in heat" among the acts that make an animal a public nuisance under county law.

The county's animal shelter and its officer, operating under the Sheriff's Office animal control program, hold impounded cats and may release them to the owner under the redemption procedures in § 6-17.