Las Cruces, NM Animal Ordinances: Cat Rules (2026)

Sec. 7-32A defines the rules for a 'community cat,' an unowned, free-roaming cat or colony cat that may be ear-tipped, and for the caregiver who feeds and shelters it without becoming its legal owner. Caregivers must make reasonable efforts to have every cat in their care sterilized, vaccinated, microchipped and registered to the ASCMV, and ear-tipped for identification, and must keep providing food, clean water and medical care on an ongoing basis; if a cat needs care the caregiver cannot afford, the caregiver has to contact animal control for its disposition rather than let the cat suffer.

After trap-neuter-return processing, a cat is released back to where it was trapped, or to its known caregiver, unless it turns out to be unsocialized with a poor prospect for survival back in the field. Location limits apply to every release: a community cat cannot be returned within 300 feet of a licensed day care center, a public or private school, a nursing home, a park, or any city-owned or leased facility such as city hall or the library, and cannot be returned within a half mile of the Rio Grande or within 300 feet of a natural or unchannelized arroyo unless the colony sits inside an enclosed cat colony. A cat trapped three or more times in a year loses its right to be returned to that location altogether.