Rock Hill, SC Animal Ordinances: Mandatory Spay/Neuter (2026)

Section 6-36(i) of the Rock Hill City Code imposes two related rules on female dogs and cats. First, every female dog or cat in heat must be kept confined in a building or secure enclosure or in a veterinary hospital or boarding kennel, or otherwise kept so it does not create a nuisance by attracting other dogs or cats. Second, and distinctly, every female dog or cat over four months of age housed outside in a manner where other stray dogs or cats have unrestricted breeding access must be spayed to prevent nuisance reproduction.

Read together, the rule is conditional rather than a blanket citywide spay mandate: an outdoor female over four months old triggers the spay requirement only once she is kept in a setting where stray animals can reach her unrestricted, such as a yard without an effective fence or gate. An indoor cat, a female kept in a secure enclosure, or a female whose owner otherwise prevents stray access is not swept in by this subsection. Separately, Section 6-47 gives any owner reclaiming an impounded animal the option to have it spayed or neutered at the shelter at the time of reclamation; choosing that option waives all boarding fees and cuts the impoundment fee in half, on top of the rabies vaccination and microchip costs already charged. That reclamation-time discount functions as Rock Hill's practical spay/neuter incentive alongside the outdoor-breeding-access mandate in Section 6-36(i).