Medina, OH Animal Ordinances: Cat Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Codified Ordinances § 505.082(c)
- Cat licensing
- None; § 505.03 covers dogs only
- TNR exception
- Must be City-authorized
- Owned-cat feeding
- Exempt under § 505.082(b)
- Penalty for violation
- Minor misdemeanor, escalating
Summary
Medina has no cat licensing or leash requirement, but its wildlife-feeding ban exempts anyone officially authorized by the City to run a feral cat Trap-Neuter-Vaccinate-Return program. Feeding a feral colony outside an authorized program can otherwise be prosecuted under Section 505.082.
This section does not apply to fishing, feeding of animals owned by that person or to song birds fed from a stationary and off-ground/hanging bird feeder. ... This section shall not apply to a law enforcement officer, game officer or conservation officer enforcing the laws of the State of Ohio, or any local ordinances, nor to anyone officially authorized by the City to engage in an animal control program, including, without limitation, a feral cat Trap-Neuter-Vaccinate-Return Program or similar program.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2025-01: Local legislation current through June 24, 2025 | State legislation current through December 31, 2024).
Full Breakdown
01's running-at-large ban names cattle, sheep, geese, ducks, turkeys, chickens, other fowl, and dogs, but not cats, so a free-roaming cat is not itself a code violation. 082, the general prohibition on purposely feeding deer, geese, ducks, raccoons, fowl, wild animals, wildlife, or stray animals where the feeding damages another's property or creates a nuisance. 082 if the feeding creates a nuisance or property damage, while a City-sanctioned TNR caretaker is shielded from that same charge. ' The City can also pursue a civil injunction in the Court of Common Pleas under subsection (d) against a violator, independent of any criminal charge.
Violations & Fines
A person feeding feral or stray cats outside a City-authorized TNR program who causes property damage or a nuisance is guilty of a minor misdemeanor for a first offense and a fourth-degree misdemeanor for each later offense under Section 505.082(e), with each day of continued feeding a separate offense. The City may also seek a civil injunction under 505.082(d).
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Medina require cat licenses like it does for dogs?
Can I legally feed a feral cat colony in Medina?
Is feeding my own pet cat outside restricted?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Medina
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