Gordon County, GA Animal Ordinances: Cat Rules (2026)

Cats are regulated in Chapter 3.5 of the Gordon County Code, the Gordon County Animal Control Ordinance (Sec. 3.5-21), and in the rabies control article that follows it. The Code defines a cat as any male or female cat of pure or mixed breed, and a stray cat as one found off its owner's property without a collar and proof of rabies vaccination, or one that no one claims. Chapter 3.5 prints no cat license and no feral colony program. The tag it requires is the rabies tag.

Under Sec. 3.5-24(a)(1), Gordon County, its agents and employees can impound four kinds of dogs and cats: those without an attached rabies tag, those off the owner's premises that the county's agent has reason to believe are strays, those running at large, and any female in heat off the premises of the owner or keeper. "At large" means off the premises of the owner or keeper and not under leash or other physical restraint. Notice goes to the owner immediately by certified mail or hand delivery when the owner can be found. If the owner does not respond within three (3) days of impoundment or notice, whichever last occurs, the cat can be placed in an adoptive home, sold or released to a licensed Georgia rescue group, or destroyed by a humane method. During those three days the owner can redeem the cat by paying confiscation costs set by the Board of Commissioners and showing a rabies inoculation within the preceding twelve months, or paying for the shot before release.

Sec. 3.5-45 requires current rabies tags on the collar at all times, except for cleaning, grooming or veterinary care. An owner whose cat wears no collar and tag must be able to show proof of current vaccination. Under Sec. 3.5-46, an owner whose animal was impounded for missing tags has seven (7) days from the notice to cure, extended by the rabies control officer to no more than twenty (20) days. The reclaiming owner pays a $25.00 impoundment fee plus $10.00 for each day of boarding at the shelter, plus actual veterinary costs. The rabies control officer is the department head of the Gordon County Animal Control Department (Sec. 3.5-43).