Glendale, CA Animal Ordinances: Cat Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Registration fee
- Free
- Registers with
- City-contracted humane society
- Colony definition
- 4 or more feral cats
- City funding
- None; program is volunteer-run
- Default penalty
- $100 to $500 infraction (§ 1.20.010(B))
Summary
Glendale runs a voluntary trap-neuter-return program for feral cats under Chapter 6.03, and anyone acting as a caregiver for a feral cat colony must register for free with the city's contracted humane society under § 6.03.030. A colony of four or more registered, caregiver-managed feral cats is exempt from the city's general keeping-of-animals limits.
A "feral cat" is an unsocialized, undomesticated, free roaming cat that has not been diagnosed with a communicable disease, as may be determined by an animal control officer or a veterinarian. ... All care givers of feral cats in the city of Glendale are required to be registered with the humane society which provides animal care services, under contract, to the city. The registration is free and can be effected by completing a form which is available at the humane society. The form shall include the following information: the name and address of the care giver, contact information for the care giver, the location of the colony, the current number of cats in the colony, the veterinarian of record and feral cat trap information, and any other information deemed necessary for the effective control or management of the T-N-R program.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4983441; v20 updated 2026-05-19).
Full Breakdown
Chapter 6.03 establishes Glendale's trap-neuter-return (T-N-R) program: volunteer caregivers trap feral cats, get them spayed or neutered, and return them to where they were trapped with the property owner's permission; the program is entirely voluntary and the city provides no funding for it (§ 6.03.010). Section 6.03.020 defines a "feral cat" as an unsocialized, undomesticated, free-roaming cat that has not been diagnosed with a communicable disease, as determined by an animal control officer or veterinarian.
Section 6.03.030 requires every caregiver of feral cats in the city to register, free of charge, with the humane society that provides the city's contracted animal care services. The registration form must list the caregiver's name and address, contact information, the colony's location, the current number of cats in it, the veterinarian of record, and feral cat trap information; if the caregiver rents traps, the renter's name must also be listed, and the form must be dated and signed under penalty of perjury.
Chapter 6.04's general animal-keeping rules cross-reference the registration: § 6.04.130(B) allows feral cats to be kept as an exception to the city's animal restrictions only as long as they're managed by a registered caregiver at the original colony location and with the property owner's permission, and it defines a "colony" as four or more feral cats.
Violations & Fines
Chapter 6.03 sets no penalty of its own for failing to register as a feral cat caregiver, but Chapter 6.04's general violation clause makes any violation of Title 6 an infraction under § 1.20.010(B): up to $100 for a first offense, up to $200 for a second within a year, and up to $500 for each additional violation within that year (§ 6.04.010).
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to register my feral cat colony in Glendale?
Can I legally keep a feral cat colony on my Glendale property?
What happens if I don't register as a Glendale feral cat caregiver?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Glendale
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