East Baton Rouge Parish, LA Animal Ordinances: Cat Rules (2026)

Sec. 14:113 of the City-Parish Code creates a formal community cat management program. To qualify, every cat in the colony must be assessed healthy by a veterinarian, sterilized, vaccinated against rabies, and ear-tipped for identification. Cats must be maintained on the caretaker's own property or on another's property with express permission, and a cat cannot be returned to a property whose owner, after being educated on the program, refuses consent. Once those subsection (a) and (b) conditions are met, the community cat is exempted from licensing, stray and at-large provisions that otherwise apply to owned animals under Title 14.

That exemption is explicit on the running-at-large point: a properly managed community cat cannot be cited for being at large. The exemption does not reach the chapter's general nuisance provisions, so a colony that damages property, spreads disease, or otherwise creates a documented problem is not shielded. Anyone may feed, water, or shelter a community cat, but food must sit in a feeding container, water must stay clean and algae-free, and any shelter must be unobtrusive, safe and properly sized. A resident can file a written complaint with the director of the Animal Control and Rescue Center describing a specific colony problem, and the director may order relocation or removal of any or all nuisance cats from the program.

The Metropolitan Council is required to review the community cat program every three years to assess how it is functioning and its impact on the parish.