Polk County's Animal Control Ordinance (18-068) covers cats as well as dogs — including rabies vaccination and at-large control — and impounded cats go to the Animal Rescue League of Iowa. Iowa's rabies-tag statute targets dogs, but cats fall under the county ordinance and state bite-reporting law.
Ordinance 18-068 addresses vaccination and tagging conditions for dogs and cats and prohibits animals from running at large in the unincorporated county, so free-roaming or unvaccinated cats can be impounded and taken to the ARL. Iowa Code 351.33's rabies-vaccination mandate is written for dogs, but Iowa Code 351.38 makes it the duty of an owner of any 'dog, cat or other animal' that bites a person to report the bite to a health or law enforcement official. Feral-cat colonies are typically managed through trap-neuter-return programs run by the ARL rather than county code. City residents should also check municipal cat licensing rules.
Cat violations under the county ordinance carry impoundment and reclaim fees; failure to report a cat bite is enforced under Iowa Code 351.38. Neglect of cats is chargeable under Iowa Code 717B.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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Polk County allows backyard composting but regulates it through the Health Nuisance Regulation: a compost pile that harbors vermin, produces offensive odors,...
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Polk County has no ordinance for or against artificial turf on residential lots. Installation on unincorporated land is generally unrestricted; cities and HO...
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Polk County has no ordinance banning native or prairie landscaping, and the county promotes native roadside vegetation. The one legal limit: your planting ca...
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Iowa has no state ban on collecting rainwater, and Polk County sets no rain-barrel ordinance. Residents may capture roof runoff in barrels or cisterns; only ...
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Polk County sets no lawn-watering schedule. Central Iowa's water is managed by Central Iowa Water Works / Des Moines Water Works, which can impose voluntary ...
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Iowa Code 317.10 requires every landowner to destroy all noxious weeds on their land as directed by the county board of supervisors. Polk County's Weed Commi...
Side-by-side rule comparisons with other cities in this county.
See how West Des Moines's cat rules rules stack up against other locations.
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