Queen Creek, AZ Animal Ordinances: Cat Rules (2026)

Section 6-2-10 requires that any impounded cat receive proper care and maintenance and be kept at the county animal shelter for at least seventy-two hours unless its owner claims it first. Once that seventy-two-hour hold expires, anyone may purchase the cat by paying all accrued fees and complying with any applicable vaccination requirements, and the enforcement agent may otherwise place the cat for sale or dispose of it humanely. If a cat is sick or injured, the enforcement agent may destroy it sooner than the hold period ends when destruction is necessary to prevent suffering or stop the spread of disease.

An owner reclaiming an impounded cat must prove ownership and pay all county animal shelter fees; unlike dogs, cats are not subject to Queen Creek's separate license-tag and collar requirements under Article 6-2, so a cat is not cited simply for lacking a tag. Cats that bite a person are treated under Section 6-2-11's biting-animal rules: an unlicensed or unvaccinated cat that bites someone must be confined and quarantined at a county animal shelter, or at the owner's expense at a veterinary hospital, for at least seven days, while a vaccinated, owned cat may be quarantined at home with the enforcement agent's consent.

If a cat is later adopted out of a shelter, Section 6-2-19 requires it be spayed or neutered first, or that the adopter sign an agreement and post a deposit to have it sterilized within thirty days or before sexual maturity.