Lawrence, KS Animal Ordinances: Cat Rules (2026)

Section 3-202(d) states plainly that any cat on the property of its owner or keeper is not deemed to be running at large in the city, a carve-out that does not exist for dogs under the same section. Section 3-202(a)(1)(e) adds a second exemption for a 'community cat', defined in Section 3-102 as a cat that is unsocialized to humans, has a temperament of extreme fear or resistance to human contact, and carries a straight-line tip cut on one ear showing it has been sterilized; a community cat is not treated as running at large even off its owner's property.

Outside of these carve-outs, a cat that is on someone else's property without permission is deemed at large under Section 3-202(b) the same as any other animal, and a cat owner is separately obligated under Section 3-201 to keep the animal currently vaccinated against rabies. The definitions chapter's owner clause also specifies that a person does not 'own' a community cat for purposes of the chapter's definitions, underscoring that the community cat exemption is built around colony cats without a traditional keeper.