Trenton, NJ Animal Ordinances: Cat Rules (2026)

A. 1, drives § 21-1's annual license requirement for dogs, but Trenton's Code contains no parallel citywide cat-license requirement; cats are instead addressed piecemeal across several articles. Section 21-8B sets a flat $100 adoption fee for any impounded cat surrendered for adoption from the City shelter, the same amount whether the animal is male or female (dog adoption fees run $120). Feral and community cats get two carve-outs. First, § 21-35 exempts 'feral cats as part of an approved Trap-Neuter-Release program' from the Article IV ban on feeding wildlife in parks and City property, so registered colony caretakers can legally feed on City land where the general public cannot.

Second, § 21-48G exempts 'Trap-Neuter-Vaccinate-Return (TNVR) managed community cat programs or colony caretakers' from the citywide mandatory spay/neuter law, but only if the program registers with the City and complies with all relevant state regulations; an unregistered caretaker feeding an unaltered colony gets no protection from either the feeding ban or the spay/neuter mandate. Outside of TNR programs, every cat over six months old kept in the City must otherwise be spayed or neutered under § 21-47, and cats are covered by the same tethering, outdoor-enclosure, and cruelty protections in §§ 21-39 through 21-43 that apply to dogs.