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

Sec. 14-350 states the board of commissioners' finding that trap-neuter-return controls the feral cat population better than trap-and-euthanize, because removed cats are simply replaced through reproduction. Under Sec. 14-352(a), any healthy free-roaming cat impounded or surrendered to animal control may be placed into the community cat program; selected cats are taken to a designated veterinarian to be spayed or neutered, vaccinated for rabies, and ear-tipped for identification before being returned to the neighborhood where they were trapped (14-352(b)). Sec. " The program is not unconditional: a community cat can still be impounded and either released to a rescue group or euthanized if it turns out to be unhealthy, damages a complaining owner's property, creates unsanitary conditions or odors that draw a citizen complaint, or if the animal control unit commander decides some other condition warrants pulling it from the program (14-352(c)(1)-(4)).

The article also separately defines a "stray cat" as any at-large cat, other than a community cat, found on residential, multi-residential common areas or other property without an owner's control and without an ID tag or microchip, and an "unowned cat" as one on someone's property whose owner disclaims it and who has no traceable microchip or ID.