East Brunswick, NJ Animal Ordinances: Cat Rules (2026)

East Brunswick Township Code Chapter 83 covers dogs and cats together. Section 83-14 opens by requiring every dog or cat owner to comply with its regulations and then states that cats are exempt from Section 83-14C-G, the provisions on barking, running at large, leashing, property damage and curbing. Subsection A still binds cats: a metal registration tag is issued for each licensed cat, and the cat must wear a collar or harness with the tag securely fastened, with elastic collars allowed on cats. Subsection H defines a public nuisance cat: one with no known owner or custodian, no known place of custodial care, one that damages private or public property, one that attacks lawful users or occupants of property, or one that causes a definable public health hazard supported by medical or other documentation.

Licensing comes from § 83-2. Licensing age is seven (7) months or a set of permanent teeth. A cat needs a license if it was owned and kept in the township on January 1, if it was acquired during the year and kept more than ten (10) days, if it reaches licensing age during the year, if an unlicensed cat is brought in and kept more than ten (10) days, or if a cat licensed by another state is kept more than ninety (90) days. Applications go to the East Brunswick Township Clerk's Office, before April 1 for January 1 cats and within ten (10) days otherwise. The annual fee is $15.20 per dog or cat, a further $3.00 applies to a cat of reproductive age that has not been sterilized, the late fee is $5, and a replacement tag is $2. Licenses expire on the last day of March.

Rabies vaccination is mandatory under § 83-8, which expressly includes farm cats, and no license issues until the vaccination certificate reaches the Township Clerk. A vicious cat, defined in § 83-1 as one that has attacked or bitten a human being without provocation, triggers a written notice from the Animal Control Officer to appear before the Municipal Court.