Whereas the state of Massachusetts requires by law that cats be vaccinated for rabies;

Concord has no procedures in place for registering and licensing domestic pet cats to enforce the rabies law;

The Town has no procedures in place encouraging responsible cat ownership.

no person shall own or keep a cat 6 months of age or older within the Town unless a license for such cat is obtained from the Town;

all licenses must be procured between January 1st and December 31st, both dates inclusive;

a valid rabies certificate must be submitted to the Town Clerk at the time of licensing; 

evidence of having a cat spayed or neutered must be presented to be licensed. This may be waived if a statement from a veterinarian is signed and submitted, stating a reason why spaying or neutering has been delayed;

a license tag will be issued to the cat owner and all licenses shall be renewed annually;

all cats are required to wear their license;

the holder of a cat license must be 18 years of age or older;

any cat in transit, or brought into Town temporarily for the sole purpose of showing in a cat show or exhibition, shall be exempt from these provisions.

no owner or keeper of a cat may allow his cat to enter onto the property of another after the owner has been informed by a law enforcement officer or Animal Control Officer that his cat was disturbing the peace on the property of another. This constitutes the first trespass offense;

greater than 3 offenses constitutes a need for remedial action: the Animal Control Officer and owner or keeper of the cat will explore options for containing the cat within the boundaries of its own yard, thus lessening the potential of injury or conflict with a person or animal.

the Animal Control Officer shall pick up and impound or quarantine any cat running at large which is either in distress or causing a disturbance. To obtain release of one's cat, an owner or keeper must procure evidence of inoculation against rabies and pay the required impoundment fee, as well as in the case of feral cats, show evidence of spaying and neutering unless waived per order of veterinary authorization;

an animal shelter that accepts a cat with identification shall make a reasonable attempt to notify the owner by telephone or by sending a written notice within 24 hours of admitting the cat. The animal shelter shall hold the cat for a period of 6 days beginning on and including the day of admittance. If the owner claims the cat within the 6 day period, the animal shelter shall release the cat to the owner upon payment of any impoundment fee. Upon expiration of the 6-day period, ownership of the cat is vested with the animal shelter and the animal shelter may then handle the cat as a homeless cat for disposition in accordance with shelter guidelines;

an animal shelter that accepts a cat without identification shall hold the cat for not less than 4 days. After 4 days, the animal shelter may treat the cat as a homeless cat and may: