Worcester County, MD Animal Ordinances: Cat Rules (2026)

Cats are regulated alongside dogs in Title PS2 of the Code of Public Local Laws. Section PS 2-102(a) provides that no person shall own or have custody of any dog or cat over four months of age unless the animal is licensed. The exception covers dogs or cats in the county for thirty days or less which are owned by a nonresident, provided they are fully licensed in their home city, county or state. Before any license is issued under § PS 2-102(b), the owner must produce satisfactory evidence that the cat has been vaccinated against rabies and that the vaccination is still effective on the date of licensing.

Applications go to the Animal Control Warden on forms the Warden prescribes, with a fee set by resolution of the County Commissioners, and applications can be made at any time. Under § PS 2-102(d), all licenses are valid for the period for which the rabies vaccination is valid. The authority to issue cat licenses can be delegated to any licensed veterinarian treating cats that are eligible. Tags bear the name of the county, the number of the corresponding certificate and the year in which the tag expires, and under § PS 2-102(f) they are not transferable from one animal to another. A lost tag is replaced for the balance of the license term by surrendering the old certificate and paying the prescribed fee.

The Warden keeps a roster of licensed cats and owners. Within sixty days of the pending expiration date the Warden sends a renewal notice, and an owner whose cat died during the license year must notify the Warden when the renewal notice arrives. Section PS 2-102(i)(2) makes it unlawful for the owner of any cat to permit it to be off the owner's property without its individual license tag attached to a collar or harness, and it is unlawful for anyone other than the owner or his agent to remove a tag. A new owner must notify the Warden in writing of a change of ownership.

At-large rules cover cats too. Section PS 2-101(i) makes it unlawful to permit a cat to run at large, and a stray dog or cat is defined to include one running at large without a license tag. Impounded cats are held at least three business days, and § PS 2-101(e) bars release until the cat has been vaccinated for rabies and licensed, with the owner paying for the vaccination. Licensing does not apply to cats confined to the premises of educational and research institutions or incorporated benevolent societies devoted to lost, strayed or homeless animals.