Gwinnett County, GA Animal Ordinances: Cat Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Exempt from
- Registration and licensing rules
- Mark
- Ear-tip signals program cat
- Ear-tipped cats
- Cannot be impounded
- Trapping
- Requires private property owner consent
Summary
Gwinnett County's community cat program exempts identified stray cats from registration, licensing and stray-animal rules, and bars animal welfare from impounding a healthy, ear-tipped cat returned to where it was found.
Cats brought into the community cat program are exempt from registration, licensing, and stray animal provisions of this chapter, and shall not be deemed abandoned when returned to the location where captured, and as necessary and appropriate, may be exempt from other provisions of this Code applicable to owned animals.(c)Any stray cat without any traceable form of identification that is impounded or brought to the animal shelter and deemed eligible by using best practices, may be immediately placed in the community cat program. Healthy, ear-tipped cats shall not be impounded, as they are already considered to be part of the community cat program.(d)Nothing within this subsection shall be construed to authorize individuals to enter upon private property without the consent of the owner of such property to trap and/or release any stray cat. (Ord. No. AW-2020(GCID: 2020-1254), Exh. B, 12-15-2020)
Secs. 10-74—10-102. - Reserved.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 9).
Full Breakdown
Rather than treating every unowned free-roaming cat as a stray to be impounded, Gwinnett County's animal welfare division can enroll cats from high-population areas in a community cat program. Enrolled cats are exempt from the chapter's registration, licensing and stray-animal provisions and aren't considered abandoned when released back where they were trapped. Any stray cat with no traceable ID that's impounded or brought to the shelter can be placed in the program if deemed eligible, and a healthy cat with an ear-tip, the universal mark of a sterilized community cat, can't be impounded at all, since it's already treated as part of the program. The program doesn't authorize anyone to trap cats on private property without the owner's consent.
Violations & Fines
The community cat program itself carries no penalty: it's an exemption, not a prohibition. Trapping a cat on private property without the owner's consent remains subject to the chapter's general animal-control penalties.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Gwinnett County impound an ear-tipped stray cat?
Do community cats need to be licensed in Gwinnett County?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Gwinnett County
Compare Gwinnett County to another location·View the Georgia animal ordinances overview
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