New Rochelle, NY Animal Ordinances: Cat Rules (2026)

Chapter 89's Article II, Nuisances, is the only provision in New Rochelle's animal code that reaches cats directly, since Article III's licensing scheme and Article I's leash rule are written specifically around dogs. Section 89-4 forbids a person who owns, possesses or controls a dog, cat or other animal from letting the animal commit a nuisance on any paved sidewalk, on public premises, or on private premises owned by someone else, except at the curb. Section 89-5A extends the duty to feces specifically, requiring anyone who owns or controls a dog or domestic animal, a category that includes cats, to immediately remove any feces the animal leaves on a public area such as the strip between the street and sidewalk, curbs, roads, paths, parks or any other place people congregate, or on private property that is not their own.

Subsection B directs that the waste be removed to the owner's own premises or disposed of in a sanitary manner approved by the Local Health Authority, and that any waste placed in a public receptacle first be sealed in a bag or container. Subsection C exempts licensed Seeing Eye dogs from the removal duty. There is no cat-specific licensing requirement and no feral-colony ordinance in the Code; a violation of either section is punishable under § 89-6 by a fine of not more than $250 or imprisonment of not more than 15 days, or both.