Macon-Bibb County, GA Animal Ordinances: Cat Rules (2026)

Section 5-10(a) requires any person owning, keeping, harboring or having custody of a dog or cat six months or older within Macon-Bibb County for more than 120 days in a 12-month period to obtain a registration license tag from the Animal Welfare Department. Subsection (b) conditions that license on proof of current rabies vaccination from a licensed veterinarian, and licenses run for one year with rabies boosters due within 30 days before each renewal under subsection (e). Section 5-11 requires the tag to stay attached to the cat's collar or harness at all times and be produced on demand to the Animal Welfare Department or the Office of the Sheriff.

Section 5-12 separately obligates every owner to provide adequate shelter, food, water and medical care, and makes it a violation to let a licensed animal defecate on someone else's property, chase vehicles, or otherwise threaten public health or safety. Feral colonies get a distinct track: Section 5-43(4) waives the individual unaltered-license tag for cats in a colony that is registered with, and stays in compliance with, Animal Welfare Department requirements, as long as the colony registration is renewed every year and every cat in it is sterilized. The department may also spend up to half of collected license fees funding a low-cost spay/neuter program under Section 5-10(d)(3).