Raleigh, NC Animal Ordinances: Cat Rules (2026)

Chapter 12, Article B covers dogs and cats together for inoculation and shelter but treats at-large enforcement through the citywide § 12-3007, which makes it unlawful for the owner of any domesticated animal, cats included, to let the animal be at large in the city or on city property, punishable as a misdemeanor and enforceable by civil penalty, injunction, or both. Rabies inoculation is mandatory for cats four months or older under § 12-3008(a); a cat's inoculation is current if given within the preceding twelve months, compared to the two-shot, three-year booster schedule for dogs.

Unlike dogs, cats are not required to wear the metal inoculation tag on a collar, but § 12-3008(b)(3) still requires the owner to keep the tag or a written rabies certificate as proof. Sections 12-3009 and 12-3010 apply the same adequate feed, water, and shelter duties to cats as to dogs, including a ban on leaving a cat outdoors without accompaniment or shelter for more than fifteen minutes in extreme weather. Raleigh no longer issues individual cat licenses: an editor's note to Article B, Division 2 records that Ord.

No. 2012-59, effective January 1, 2013, repealed §§ 12-3013 through 12-3018, the sections that formerly covered dog and cat licensing. A commercial cattery, as opposed to a household pet, still needs a facility-level cattery license under § 12-3049. A cat found at large may be impounded for at least five weekdays under § 12-3063 and redeemed for a $10 fee plus boarding costs under § 12-3064.