St. Peters, MO Animal Ordinances: Cat Rules (2026)

City Code Section 205.010 defines a FERAL CAT as 'a domestic cat born in the wild or that has reverted back to a wild state and is not tame or socialized,' and a FERAL CAT PROGRAM as a spay/neuter and education program approved by the County's Division Director or adopted under the County's own Section 205.225. Chapter 205 itself governs St. Peters because the Board of Aldermen adopted the County's animal-control code by Ordinance No. 6849 as a kenneling and enforcement contract with St. Charles County.

Section 205.125 sets out the habitual-at-large process that follows a cat caught loose off its owner's property: after a third apprehension, the Health Manager has five business days to decide whether the animal is habitually at large, during which it stays impounded at the St. Charles County Animal Control Shelter. A habitually-at-large finding leads to a declaration of abandonment, notice to the owner by certified mail, and a right to appeal to the City Administrator's office within five business days before the cat is put up for adoption or, if unsuitable, euthanized.

Subsection E of that same Section draws a hard line for colony cats: 'This Section shall not apply to any dog or cat known to be feral,' so a cat identified as feral cannot be run through the habitual-at-large and abandonment process at all. Separately, Section 205.295(B) also references a County-run feral cat program limited to sterilization, ear-tipping and rabies/FVRCP vaccination of feral and community cats weighing more than two pounds, though that program by its own terms applies to the County's unincorporated area.