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

Unlike many jurisdictions, unincorporated Surry County has no cat licensing ordinance and no trap-neuter-return or feral-colony program in its code; § 90.002 defines a FERAL CAT only as an unowned cat which is not an identified animal and which is not socialized, with no accompanying registration or colony-care scheme attached. The code instead regulates cats through two operative rules. First, § 90.052 makes it unlawful for anyone owning or controlling a female dog or female cat to allow that animal to be at large during its estrous (heat) period; on a first complaint the Animal Control Officer (ACO) notifies the owner and orders confinement, and a second confirmed at-large-during-estrous complaint triggers a citation and authorizes impoundment under §§ 90.030 et seq.

Second, § 90.115 requires the owner of every dog and cat over four months of age to have the animal vaccinated against rabies and to comply with North Carolina G.S. Ch. 130A, Art. 6, Part 6. Outside of estrous, an at-large cat is not automatically in violation unless it is also creating a public nuisance under § 90.050, defined at § 90.051 to include chasing, attacking, or repeatedly damaging property. The Animal Control Department, operating under the Surry County Health and Nutrition Center, enforces these sections, and a party redeeming an unvaccinated cat cannot get it back until paying for the required vaccination under § 90.036. Violations of either § 90.052 or § 90.115 fall within the general civil citation schedule at § 90.999.