Cats in Knox County must be vaccinated against rabies: Tennessee law (TCA 68-8-103) requires dogs and cats over six months old to be currently vaccinated. Knox County's animal ordinance covers cats for rabies and nuisance; there is no countywide cat-leash requirement.
Tennessee's rabies statute applies to cats as well as dogs. Under TCA 68-8-103, dogs and cats over the age of six months must be currently vaccinated against rabies by or under a veterinarian's supervision. Knox County's animal-control ordinance (Chapter 6, enforced by Young-Williams Animal Center) treats cats under the same rabies and nuisance framework as other pets. There is no countywide leash or confinement mandate specific to cats, though free-roaming cats that damage property or create a nuisance can still draw complaints. Feral-cat and trap-neuter-return efforts are handled through Young-Williams and local rescue partners.
Owning an unvaccinated cat violates state rabies law; a biting or bitten cat may be quarantined. Nuisance complaints can lead to citations under county code.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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Knox County does not prohibit backyard composting for households. The zoning code only regulates commercial-scale composting facilities, which are solid-wast...
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Knox County has no ordinance regulating artificial turf on residential property. Synthetic lawns are neither required nor banned; large installations should ...
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Knox County has no rule requiring native plants in home yards, but its zoning ordinance requires native shade trees in new parking lots and along streets in ...
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Knox County has no ordinance prohibiting or specially regulating residential rain barrels or rainwater collection. Tennessee does not restrict rainwater harv...
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Knox County does not impose a general ordinance restricting lawn or garden watering days or hours. Any watering limits come from your individual water utilit...
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Knox County treats vines, grass, weeds and other vegetation that reaches 12 inches or more as a presumed public nuisance on residential property. Owners must...
See how Knox County's cat rules rules stack up against other locations.
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