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

County Code § 4-2 defines an 'animal at large' as one not under the owner's control by leash, fence or other restraint, but the definition expressly excludes a non-fertile cat, meaning a spayed or neutered cat can roam without breaking that rule. Section 4-7 turns the exception around: it is unlawful for an owner to allow a fertile cat six months or older to run at large on public property or on another person's private property without permission, and a diseased cat, fertile or not, can never legally roam loose.

Section 4-5 separately requires every dog or cat four months or older to be vaccinated against rabies by a licensed veterinarian, with a certificate or rabies tag as proof; a vet's written statement that vaccination would harm the animal excuses it only if the cat is then kept enclosed until it can be safely vaccinated. Section 4-6 adds an identification duty: any cat two months or older must wear a durable metal or plastic tag stamped with the owner's address and phone number, though the code lets microchip technology substitute for the collar tag as long as the contact information stays current.

Removing a cat's tag without a listed exception, such as grooming or a boarding stay, is a separate violation. The animal control officer, working under an SPCA impoundment agreement with Dorchester Paws (§ 4-3), enforces these sections; a fertile cat picked up at large is held and is not released until it is inoculated if unvaccinated. An owner who wants a cat to roam legally without meeting the fertile-cat ban should look at the county's separate free-roaming cat program in § 4-20, which sets its own spay/neuter, microchip, vaccination and ear-tip conditions.