New Braunfels, TX Animal Ordinances: Cat Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Unneutered cat license
- $5.00 annually
- Neutered cat license
- $5.00 lifetime (with rabies cert)
- Impound fee, unneutered
- $35.00
- Impound fee, neutered
- $20.00
- Kitten impound fee
- $20.00 flat (under 3 months)
- TNR colony cats
- Exempt from impoundment fee
Summary
New Braunfels charges a $5.00 annual license fee for an unneutered cat and a one-time $5.00 lifetime fee for a neutered cat with a current rabies certificate, under the city's Animal Fee Schedule. Impounded cats cost $35.00 (unneutered) or $20.00 (neutered) to reclaim, but a feral cat in an approved trap-neuter-return colony is exempt from impoundment fees entirely.
Standard licensing fee. The licensing fee for dogs and cats, as required under this chapter, shall be as follows: Unneutered dog or cat: Annual fee of $5. Neutered dog or cat: Lifetime of animal fee of $5. The lifetime license will only be valid when accompanied by a current rabies vaccination certificate...Impoundment fee. An impoundment fee must be paid for each animal captured, as follows: Unneutered dog or cat $35. Neutered dog or cat $20...Puppies and kittens under three months of age $20. A feral cat that is otherwise in a sponsor approved trap, neuter, and return feral cat colony shall not be subject to impoundment fees under this section.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 36).
Full Breakdown
Appendix D of the New Braunfels Code of Ordinances sets the fee side of the city's animal ordinance, and cats are licensed on the same schedule as dogs. 00 fee, but only if the owner presents a current rabies vaccination certificate at the time of licensing; without that certificate, the lifetime license is not valid. 00 for a neutered one, plus any boarding fee the animal shelter sets for each day of confinement. The fee schedule carves out one significant exception for community cat management: a feral cat that is being held in a sponsor-approved trap, neuter, and return colony is not subject to the impoundment fee at all, which lets residents and organizations running TNR colonies retrieve a trapped cat for sterilization and return without paying to get it back.
00 impoundment fee regardless of neuter status, the same rate as an adult neutered animal. These fees implement the licensing and impoundment authority set out in the city's animal control chapter, with the shelter's boarding fee for cats set administratively rather than fixed in the appendix.
Violations & Fines
New Braunfels' animal ordinance requires dogs and cats to be licensed, and a cat picked up by animal control without a valid license or tag is processed as an impounded animal subject to the $35.00 (unneutered) or $20.00 (neutered) impoundment fee, plus boarding charges, before it can be reclaimed. Fees are waived only for a feral cat already enrolled in an approved trap-neuter-return colony.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to license a cat in New Braunfels?
What does it cost to get an impounded cat back in New Braunfels?
Do trap-neuter-return feral cats have to pay impound fees?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in New Braunfels
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