Chattanooga does not impose a blanket spay or neuter mandate, but McKamey Animal Center sterilizes shelter pets before adoption and offers low-cost clinics for residents under CCO Chapter 4 programs.
Chattanooga handles companion animal welfare through McKamey Animal Center under CCO Chapter 4. There is no city-wide ordinance forcing every owner to sterilize a pet, but every dog and cat adopted from McKamey is altered before leaving the shelter. McKamey runs subsidized spay and neuter clinics for low-income residents and waives or reduces fees for pit-bull-type dogs and community cats. Owners of intact animals that repeatedly run at large or breed nuisance litters can be ordered to sterilize as a condition of return.
Refusing a court-ordered sterilization after repeat at-large or nuisance citations can lead to forfeiture of the animal and additional fines.
See how Chattanooga's mandatory spay/neuter rules stack up against other locations.
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