Warwick, RI Animal Ordinances: Mandatory Spay/Neuter (2026)

Sec. " Sec. 00 per cat per year, with proceeds deposited into the city's Spay/Neuter Account. Sec. 4-117(c) extends owner responsibility to anyone who cares for a cat 30 days or more, though Sec. 4-117(d) exempts registered feral-colony caretakers who trap, test, vaccinate, and have colony cats over eight weeks spayed or neutered. Separately, Sec. 4-113(a)(1) requires that no licensed releasing agency may release, sell, adopt out, or transfer any dog or cat that has not been spayed or neutered unless the adopting party signs a written agreement, backed by a deposit equal to the surgery's cost, to have it done; exceptions exist for returned strays and health-risk cases certified by a veterinarian under Sec.

4-113(b). Breeding cats also requires a separate license under Sec. 00 per cat per year, administered by the animal shelter director, and license revocation is available under Sec. 4-120 for ordinance violations or failure to allow inspection. These provisions were enacted together under Ord. No. O-06-1 on January 9, 2006, and Ord. No. O-94-10 on May 9, 1994, respectively, as the city council's stated response to euthanasia rates among stray and abandoned cats.