Manatee County, FL Animal Ordinances: Cat Rules (2026)

Sec. 2-4-11(a) authorizes a community cat diversion program using trap-neuter-return to manage feral and free-roaming cat populations. Subsection (b) defines a community cat as any feral or free-roaming cat cared for by one or more caregivers, provided the cat is sterilized, vaccinated for rabies, and ear-tipped, meaning the removal of the distal quarter-inch of the left ear under anesthesia by a licensed veterinarian, per the definitions in Sec. 2-4-2. A community cat caregiver is not treated as the cat's legal owner, harborer, or keeper, and only has to comply with general animal-neglect and cruelty law (subsection (c)).

Subsection (d) lets caregivers reclaim an impounded, ear-tipped community cat without proof of ownership and without paying a redemption fee. Sec. 2-4-12 bars trapping a community cat for any purpose other than trap-neuter-return, revaccination, medical care, or an identified public health or safety concern, and requires the cat to be released back at the location it was trapped, with lactating or nursing cats released immediately. For cats kept as pets, Sec. 2-4-6(b) requires every cat four months or older to wear a license tag or be microchipped and linked to its owner whenever it is outside; ear-tipped community cats are specifically exempted from that tag requirement (Sec.

2-4-6(c)(3)), as are cats in an enclosure or actively competing in an organized event. A lost tag must be replaced within 10 calendar days (Sec. 2-4-6(e)).