§ 6.12.020. Cat licensing; procedure and fees.

(a)

Every person owning or having custody or control of any cat over the age of four months in the city shall, within 45 days, obtain an annual license and a cat license tag from the director and for such license and tag shall pay such amounts as established from time to time by resolution of the city council. A license tag for an individual cat shall be securely affixed to a collar, harness or other device which shall at all times be worn by such cat, except while such cat remains indoors or in any enclosed yard or pen.

(b)

A record of the name and address of the cat owner and a description of the cat, as well as the identification number assigned thereto, shall be maintained by the director on each cat license, and any other information that the director may deem proper. Should a licensed cat with an attached, valid identification tag issued by the city come into the custody of the director, then the director, or his or her designee, shall within 12 working hours from the time of impounding, notify the registered cat owner that the cat is in the custody of the director

(c)

The license fees provided for in this chapter shall be paid annually in advance to the director. The full amount of each such fee is payable for any fraction of a year. An administrative charge in such amount as established from time to time shall be assessed when the license fees provided for in this chapter are not paid within 30 days after the expiration date. There shall be no charge to have the cat owner's change of address entered into the director's records.

(d)

Upon showing a certificate from a licensed veterinarian that the cat has been spayed or neutered, a cat owner or custodian shall be charged one-half or less of the regular fee for cat licenses and tags, as provided in Food and Agricultural Code § 31751.5 or any successor statute.

(e)

An individual cat license shall be obtained for each cat in addition to a kennel license when such cat is not kept exclusively on the premises. No individual license shall be required for any cat in transit, or when attending a cat show in the care of a kennel representative.

(f)

Any person, except for a person possessing a valid kennel license, who for pay or other compensation causes the breeding of a female cat, shall obtain an animal breeding permit in the amount of $100.00. Each permit shall authorize the whelping of no more than one litter per female cat in any 12-month period and no more than one litter per domestic household in any 12-month period.

(g)

A license for an individual cat shall be in the form of a receipt for the fee, in such amount as established from time to time, paid for the cat license tag and the additional amount, if any, paid for the license.

(h)

If, during a license period, a cat is sold or title to the cat is otherwise transferred to a new owner, such new owner may apply to the director for a transfer of such cat's tag and license and pay a transfer fee in such amount as established from time to time. Upon receipt of such application and fee, the director shall issue a certificate of transfer of such tag, and the names and addresses of the former and new owners.

(i)

The director may authorize the issuance of cat licenses by persons practicing veterinary medicine in the county. Such persons shall transmit records and negotiable papers to the city at intervals as established by the director, and collect and transmit to the director the fee required by this chapter for the issuance of such licenses.

(j)

Any person keeping or harboring any cat for 45 consecutive days shall be deemed to be the custodian thereof and subject to licensing provisions within the meaning of this title.

(k)

A person, other than an approved research institution, shall not have, harbor or keep, or cause or permit to be harbored or kept, any unlicensed cat in the city.

(l)

No person other than a cat's owner or custodian or the director or his or her designee shall remove from the cat any collar or harness or other device to which a license tag is attached for the current year, or remove such tag from a collar or harness.

(m)

The provisions of this division do not require either a tag or a license for:

(1)

Any cat found within the city when the owner thereof resides in any other municipality within the county, and such cat is wearing or has attached to it a license tag for the current year issued by such municipality;

(2)

Any cat owned by or in the charge of any person who is a nonresident of the city and is traveling through the city or temporarily sojourning therein for a period of not exceeding 30 days;

(3)

Any cat brought into the city and kept therein for a period not to exceed 30 days for the exclusive purpose of entering the same in any bench show, or cat exhibition, or field trials or competition;

(4)

Any cat brought or sent into the city from any point outside thereof for the exclusive purpose of receiving veterinary care in any cat hospital, if such cat is kept at all times strictly confined within such hospital; and

(5)

Any cat wearing or having attached to it a license tag for the current year issued by another municipality within the county when the owner thereof has, within the past year, moved his principal place of residence from such municipality to this city, provided that such municipality similarly exempts from tag and license requirements cats wearing current county or municipal license tags and owned by persons who have moved from the unincorporated territory of the county or another municipality of the county to such municipality.

(Ord. No. 14(1989), § 2(10.24.020), 6-27-89; Ord. No. 05(2007), § 1, 6-5-07; Ord. No. 02(2011), §§ 9, 10, 2-1-11)