New Haven, CT Animal Ordinances: Cat Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Authority
- City animal control officer
- Trigger
- Property damage or unsanitary condition
- Exempt
- Owned cats, registered feral colony keepers
- State basis
- C.G.S. § 22-332d
Summary
New Haven animal control can seize any cat that damages someone else's property or creates an unsanitary or offensive condition unless the cat is owned or belongs to a registered feral cat colony keeper.
Pursuant to C.G.S. Section 22-332d, as amended from time to time, any city animal control officer may take into custody any cat found to be damaging property other than that of its owner or keeper, or causing an unsanitary, dangerous, or unreasonably offensive condition, unless such cat can be identified as under the care of its owner or keeper, or a registered keeper of feral cats. The officer shall impound such cat at the city's animal shelter unless, in the opinion of a licensed veterinarian, the cat is so injured or diseased that it should be euthanized immediately, in which case the animal control officer may cause the cat to be mercifully euthanized by a licensed veterinarian or disposed of as the state veterinarian may direct.(c)The animal control officer is authorized to take any other animal that is found to be roaming, abandoned, or abused and impound it in accordance with the directives of this section. (Ord. of 1-3-77; Code of 1985, § 7-3; Ord. of 12-7-87, § 3; Ord. No. 1400, 1-3-06; Ord. No. 1849, 11-8-18)
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 31 | Zoning: Supplement 32).
Full Breakdown
Under Sec. 7-12(b) of the Code of Ordinances, the city's animal control officer may take into custody any cat found damaging property that isn't its owner's, or causing an unsanitary, dangerous, or offensive condition. The seizure power doesn't reach a cat identifiable as under its owner's care or as part of a registered feral cat colony, so colony caretakers who register with the city keep their cats out of impoundment. Seized cats go to the city animal shelter and, absent redemption, may be sterilized and rehomed or humanely euthanized on a veterinarian's finding, per the companion impounding provisions of Chapter 7.
Violations & Fines
Seizure and impoundment at the city animal shelter; an unclaimed cat may be sterilized and adopted out, or euthanized if a veterinarian finds it unfit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can New Haven seize my outdoor cat?
How do I protect a feral cat colony I care for?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in New Haven
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