New Britain, CT Animal Ordinances: Cat Rules (2026)

Sec. 6-9(a) sets three conditions before a cat may roam freely outdoors: it must be fully vaccinated for rabies and feline distemper, altered (spayed or neutered), and wearing identification with owner information on a collar and tag. Subsection (b) makes any owner or keeper who lets an unaltered or unvaccinated cat roam, intentionally or not, guilty of violating the section. Sec. 6-6 addresses feral cats specifically: those without acceptable identification that are impounded or trapped may be transferred to partnering welfare organizations for adoption depending on temperament and health, while a feral cat already living in a colony that is not adoptable due to its demeanor may instead be returned to that colony once it is spayed/neutered, rabies-vaccinated, healthy, and not a nuisance.

Sec. 6-0 defines the surrounding vocabulary: a "colony" is a population of feral cats living in a specific area, and "TNVR" is the trap-neuter-vaccinate-return method used to manage them. Enforcement of these cat provisions, like the rest of Chapter 6, rests with the Director of Health or his agent and/or the New Britain Police Department under Sec. 6-1.