Jackson, MS Animal Ordinances: Cat Rules (2026)

Sec. 18-92 requires anyone owning, keeping, harboring, or having custody of a dog or cat three months of age or older within the city to have it vaccinated against rabies with an approved antirabic vaccine, administered by someone legally authorized to do so; it is unlawful to own or possess a dog or cat that is not vaccinated, and every cat must be vaccinated immediately on reaching three months of age and every year after. Sec. 18-93 requires the owner to ensure the cat wears a securely bradded metal tag approved by the state board of health, stamped with the vaccination's serial number and the year of inoculation, and the owner must see that the collar and tag are worn by the animal at all times, not just when leaving the property.

Jackson's code does not contain a separate cat licensing fee schedule or feral-colony/trap-neuter-return program in Chapter 18; the tag described in Sec. 18-93 doubles as the rabies-vaccination record rather than a standalone city pet license. Cats are also covered by the general running-at-large ban in Sec. 18-13 and the impoundment procedures in Sec. 00 per day for dogs, reflecting the separate fee schedule the ordinance sets by species. 00 fee or have it humanely euthanized.