Miami-Dade County licenses owned cats under Chapter 5 and operates a Trap-Neuter-Vaccinate-Return community-cat program for outdoor colonies, balancing humane management with public-health rabies vaccination requirements.
Owned cats in unincorporated Miami-Dade must be licensed annually, vaccinated against rabies, and microchipped just like dogs. For free-roaming community cats, Animal Services partners with caregivers to operate a Trap-Neuter-Vaccinate-Return (TNVR) program: caregivers trap cats, the county sterilizes and vaccinates them, and ear-tipped cats are returned to managed colonies. Caregivers register with the program and must remove sick or aggressive cats. Letting an owned cat roam unaltered or unvaccinated can still trigger nuisance citations, especially when neighbors complain about wildlife predation or property damage.
Caregivers running unregistered colonies, or owners who release unaltered cats to roam, face civil citations and may be required to remove or sterilize cats at owner expense.
Miami-Dade County, FL
Miami-Dade is not a sanctuary jurisdiction. After being labeled a sanctuary 2013 to 2017, then-Mayor Carlos Gimenez ordered full ICE cooperation in January 2...
Miami-Dade County, FL
Miami-Dade cannot mandate paid sick leave or predictable scheduling for private employers. House Bill 433 (2024) preempts all local employment benefits, hour...
Miami-Dade County, FL
Miami-Dade cannot set its own minimum wage above the Florida rate. The state Constitution Article X Section 24 fixes the floor at $14.84 in 2026, rising to $...
Miami-Dade County, FL
Every business operating in unincorporated Miami-Dade needs a Local Business Tax Receipt under Chapter 8A, with rates set by classification on a county sched...
Miami-Dade County, FL
Miami-Dade's Living Wage Ordinance (Chapter 2 §2-8.9, enacted 1999 as the first U.S. county living-wage law) requires direct county service contractors and a...
Miami-Dade County, FL
Hotels and short-term rentals in Miami-Dade collect a combined 13 percent tax: 6 percent state sales tax, 4 percent Convention Development Tax, 3 percent Tou...
See how Miami-Dade County's cat rules rules stack up against other locations.
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.