Tippecanoe County, IN Animal Ordinances: Cat Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Community cat defined
- Free-roaming cat without an identifiable indoor owner (§ 90.13(A)(1))
- Owner reclaim window
- 24 hours from notice (§ 90.13(B))
- Shelter TNR actions
- Sterilize, vaccinate, microchip, ear-tip, return (§ 90.13(F))
- Geographic limit
- No cats accepted from outside the county (§ 90.13(D))
- Caretaker protection
- Not deemed an owner for feeding/returning (§ 90.13(H))
Summary
Tippecanoe County treats a free-roaming cat as a "community cat" under § 90.13 unless its owner can be identified by microchip or collar and reclaims it within 24 hours of notice. Community cats delivered to the shelter can be sterilized, vaccinated, chipped, ear-tipped and returned to where they were found.
§ 90.13 COMMUNITY CATS. (A)(1) For purposes of this section, COMMUNITY CAT means any free roaming cat or cat found at large other than a cat: (a) Whose owner can be readily determined by microchip, identifying collar, or other immediately available information; and (b) Which cat is not ordinarily permitted to roam outside of the owner's residence. ... (B) A cat found at-large shall be regarded as a community cat unless its owner can be readily determined by microchip, identifying collar, or other immediately available information and its owner makes arrangements to recover the cat within 24 hours of email, text, voicemail, telephone call, or other communication by the Animal Control Officer, Animal Shelter operator, or designee that the cat has been found at-large.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2025 S-17: Supplement contains: Local legislation current through Ord. 2025-25-CM, passed 8-1-25; and State legislation current through 2025 Acts, Pamphlet No. 3).
Full Breakdown
13(B) gives an identifiable owner 24 hours from an email, text, voicemail, phone call or other communication from the Animal Control Officer, shelter operator or designee to arrange to recover the cat, or it is treated as a community cat. 13(C) and (D) acceptance is at the shelter's discretion, the finder must disclose where the cat was found, and the shelter will not accept cats found outside Tippecanoe County. 13(E) requires a reasonable attempt to notify the owner. 13(F), the shelter or a qualified third party may sterilize, vaccinate against rabies, microchip and return the cat to where it was found, weighing the cat's age, health and the weather, and any cat sterilized, chipped and vaccinated under this section gets its left ear tipped to identify it as a managed community cat.
Violations & Fines
Chapter 90 does not set a standalone fine tied to § 90.13 itself; the section instead structures a trap-neuter-return process for the shelter to follow. § 90.13(H) protects a person who shelters, feeds or returns a community cat from being treated as its OWNER, and returning a cat to where it was found is expressly not a prohibited act under § 90.03, so a good-faith caretaker faces no exposure under the general $250 catch-all penalty in § 90.99.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a "community cat" under Tippecanoe County law?
How long do I have to claim my cat if it's found at-large?
What does the shelter do with a community cat it takes in?
Can I get in trouble for feeding or returning a community cat?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Tippecanoe County
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