Texas City, TX Animal Ordinances: Cat Rules (2026)

Texas City handles cats and dogs together in the Dogs and Cats subchapter of Chapter 95, Animals, in the Texas City Code of Ordinances enacted by the City Commission. Section 95.002 requires that on dogs and cats there shall at all times be securely attached to a collar or harness around the neck of the animal a city tag, purchased at the Galveston County Animal Resource Center. Section 95.015 defines CATS as both male and female feline animals and OWNER as any person, firm, association or group owning, keeping or harboring a dog or cat.

Section 95.016(A) requires all dogs and cats four months of age or older within the city to be immunized against rabies with a vaccine approved by the Galveston County Animal Resource Center and administered by a duly licensed veterinarian. The veterinarian issues a certificate stating the owner's name and address, a description of the animal, the vaccination date, the rabies tag number and the kind of vaccine, and the owner gives it to the authorized person of the city. Under § 95.017, on proof of vaccination and payment of a $10 fee the Center furnishes a durable tag per animal, valid for the time of ownership or control, and a lost tag or a change in ownership or control carries a $10 replacement fee.

Cats also fall under the confinement rule in § 95.001: animals shall be confined within a building or home, or within a fenced yard or premises, so that they cannot escape without human assistance. Section 95.019 makes it unlawful to attach a tag, rope, collar or harness in a way that causes the animal pain or suffering. Section 95.003 adds the County Health District's rules, regulations and policies on top of the city code.

Enforcement runs through § 95.020, which makes it the duty of city animal control officers to take up or impound all dogs or cats found in the city in violation of the subchapter. The owner redeems the animal by paying the poundmaster the sums in the County Health District regulations, plus the tax or fine, if any, and a redeemed dog or cat must be vaccinated immediately. Impounded animals not redeemed under those regulations shall be destroyed, and the owner is liable for all costs and fees of impoundment under § 95.022.