Rutherford County, NC Animal Ordinances: Cat Rules (2026)

Article IX, Section 2(a) makes it unlawful for an owner or custodian to fail to keep a dog or cat four months or older currently vaccinated against rabies, and lets the district health director or Board of Commissioners extend the requirement to other pets during a threatened or existing epidemic. Section 2(b) sets the currency standard by species: a cat's vaccination stays current for twelve months, while a dog needs two doses one year apart followed by boosters every three years, and 'other animals' follow the health director's schedule.

All vaccine must be given by a licensed veterinarian or certified rabies vaccinator. Section 3 requires the vaccinated cat to wear a collar or harness with its issued rabies tag at all times, except while performing at a sanctioned show, obedience trial, tracking test or field trial, and a cat without a currently valid tag is subject to impoundment; using another animal's tag is separately unlawful. Cats brought into the county from outside must be confined and vaccinated within one week of entry unless a veterinarian certifies they are free of rabies exposure and were vaccinated within the preceding six months.

Section 4 requires any cat that bites a person or shows rabies symptoms to be quarantined ten days at the owner's expense, at a veterinary hospital, boarding kennel, county shelter, or the owner's premises if the enclosure and vaccination status are approved. Violations of this article carry their own penalty distinct from the appendix's general dangerous-animal penalty.