Sangamon County, IL Animal Ordinances: Cat Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Sponsor required
- IL Dept. of Agriculture licensed shelter
- Caretaker duty
- Register with sponsoring shelter
- Records
- Colony records kept, reported annually
- Fee
- Registration fee waived for colony cats
Summary
Sangamon County requires every feral cat colony caretaker to be sponsored by a licensed animal shelter, register with that sponsor, and keep colony records for the county to review.
Feral Cat Colonies. Every caretaker of a feral cat colony shall be sponsored by an animal shelter licensed by the Illinois Department of Agriculture and approved by the administrator. Each caretaker shall be registered with the sponsoring animal shelter as a feral cat colony caretaker. Each caretaker shall conform to any requirements of management for feral cat colonies as set forth by his or her sponsor. Each caretaker shall maintain records of cats in his or her colony on forms approved by the administrator. The sponsor shall make an annual report of the status of each colony to the administrator. At any reasonable time, on request of the administrator or animal control officer, the sponsor shall provide colony records for review. Such owner or keeper of such dog and cat shall cause the serially numbered tag evidencing such inoculation to be attached to a collar or harness worn by the dog and cat at all times.
All fees collected for registration and rabies inoculation tags should be remitted to the county treasurer, who shall place the moneys in the animal control fund. The animal control fund will reimburse the public health department for the provisions of animal control services.
(Res. No. 9, 8-9-2011; Res. No. 12, § I, Exh. A, 7-11-2017)
Full Breakdown
The county's animal control code treats feral cat colonies as a managed exception rather than strays at large. Each caretaker must be sponsored by an animal shelter licensed by the Illinois Department of Agriculture and approved by the county administrator, register with that sponsor, follow the sponsor's colony-management requirements, and keep records of the colony's cats. The sponsor reports annually on colony status and must produce colony records on request from the administrator or an animal control officer. Registered colony cats are exempt from the standard registration fee that applies to owned cats.
Violations & Fines
No caretaker-specific penalty is stated; an unsponsored or unregistered colony falls outside the exemption and its cats are treated as unowned strays subject to normal impoundment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can anyone start a feral cat colony in the county?
Do colony cats need rabies tags like owned cats?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Sangamon County
Compare Sangamon County to another location·View the Illinois animal ordinances overview
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