Chatham County, GA Animal Ordinances: Cat Rules (2026)

Code of Chatham County Sec. 22-104 governs any cat that lives in a residence but is let outside the structure: subsection (a) requires that cat be spayed or neutered before it is allowed outdoors, with no exception for owners who intend to breed. Subsection (b) lets Animal Services trap and bring in any cat deemed a nuisance to adjacent property owners, treating it as an at-large animal for impound purposes. Sec. 22-105(a) confirms the Animal Control Ordinance covers domestic cats generally, while Sec. 22-105(b) routes complaints about non-domestic or exotic cats, or protected wildlife, to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Game and Fish Division or federal USDA Law Enforcement rather than county Animal Services.

Enforcement runs through Sec. 22-106: an Animal Services officer may issue a citation and subpoena to a cat's owner or custodian for any violation of the chapter, in addition to impounding the animal, and a conviction in Magistrate Court carries a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $1,000 per count, plus authority for the court to order restitution to anyone harmed. Sec. 22-109 gives the Director of Animal Services sole discretion to grant a narrow exemption from strict compliance, but only where the activity serves an educational purpose, is otherwise legal, meets the ordinance's intent, and does not cause excessive adverse impact on neighbors; any exemption must be documented by the Director.