Edinburg, TX Animal Ordinances: Wildlife Feeding (2026)

The city's animal code defines a cat colony as free-roaming homeless, stray, wild or untamed cats maintained by a caretaker who provides food, water and shelter under a trap-neuter-return program. Colonies with eight or fewer cats can be fed without registering, but larger colonies must be registered with the Police Department's Animal Care Services division, and caretakers must obtain a one-year cat colony permit and follow department-mandated sterilization and management practices. The department can seize a colony over public-health concerns or nuisance violations, and non-compliant caretakers get a written warning with up to 90 days to fix the problem before citation.