Costa Mesa Municipal Code Ch. IX Trap-Neuter-Return

The city council finds that the humane management of free-roaming, unowned, or feral cats through trap-neuter-return programs reduces animal shelter intake, decreases euthanasia, improves public health, and results in more effective and compassionate animal-control outcomes. The purpose of this chapter is to authorize and regulate trap-neuter-return programs for community cats within the City of Costa Mesa.

(Ord. No. 2026-06, 5/5/2026)

Chief of police

means the chief of the Costa Mesa Police Department or designee, including, but not limited to, the Animal Services Unit.

Community cat

means a free-roaming cat that lives outdoors, is unowned, unsocialized, and not readily adoptable.

Community cat colony or colony

means two or more community cats living in one general outdoor location.

Ear-tipping

means the removal of the distal tip of a cat's left ear while under anesthesia to indicate sterilization.

Feral cat

means an unsocialized outdoor cat who has either never had any physical contact with humans, or human contact has diminished enough over time that the cat is no longer accustomed thereto.

Sponsor organization

means a nonprofit rescue, veterinary clinic, or other organization that facilitates TNR services.

Stray cat

means any cat that has been lost or abandoned, and the pet guardian is no longer providing or attempting to provide care and lives outdoors and exhibits the characteristics of being able to be successfully domesticated.

Trap-neuter-return activities

Means and includes trapping, sterilizing, vaccinating and/or ear tipping in in connection with returning a cat to their colony or location of capture.

Trap-neuter-return or TNR,

is the practice whereby community cats are humanely trapped, taken to a licensed veterinary hospital or spay-neuter facility where they are sterilized, vaccinated, ear tipped, and adopted or returned to their colony to be cared for until the end of their natural life.

Trap-neuter-return program or program

means the TNR activities within the city authorized by and conducted in conformance with the requirements of this chapter.

Trap-neuter-return provider or provider

means a person or sponsor organization authorized under this chapter to engage in TNR activities.

(Ord. No. 2026-06, 5/5/2026)

(a) No person shall engage in any trap-neuter-return activities within the city except as authorized by this chapter.

(b) It shall be lawful for a person and/or sponsor organization, upon registration and authorization from the chief of police, to humanely trap, transport, sterilize, vaccinate, ear-tip, and return a healthy community cat or feral cat to the location where it was originally trapped, provided any sterilization, vaccination and/or ear-tipping is done pursuant to all applicable laws.

(c) A cat returned as authorized by this chapter shall not be deemed to be "running at large" in a public place pursuant to subsection (a) of section 3-15, provided all requirements of this chapter are met.

(Ord. No. 2026-06, 5/5/2026)

(a) Prior to engaging in any TNR activities and/or participating in any TNR program within the city, a person or sponsor organization must first register with and receive a letter of authorization from the chief of police.

(b) The chief of police is authorized to create and make available registration forms, logs, and other materials and to require information from applicants consistent with the requirements of this chapter, and to issue, deny, suspend and or place reasonable conditions on letters of authorization subject to the notification procedures of section 3-148.

(c) A letter of authorization shall be valid for one calendar year from date of approval. A request for renewal of authorization must be submitted at least 30 days prior to expiration thereof.

(d) Mandatory sterilization, vaccination and ear-tipping. All cats returned under this Program must first:

(1) Be scanned for a microchip ID and contact made with the registered owner prior to any treatment.

(2) Be surgically sterilized.

(3) Receive all core feline vaccinations as designated under current veterinary vaccination guidelines.

(4) Receive permanent identification through ear-tipping.

(5) Exceptions. Cats that are seriously ill, injured, or determined by a veterinarian to be suitable for adoption shall not be returned and must instead be provided treatment and/or placement as appropriate.

(e) Recordkeeping.

(1) TNR providers are required to submit TNR logs documenting each TNR cat originating from the city, including but not limited to location trapped, date trapped, clinic or veterinarian used, sterilization and vaccination information, ear-tipping confirmation, and release location. Logs should be submitted upon completion of work on individual colonies and minimally at the end of the calendar year, or prior to the annual expiration of a letter of authorization, whichever is sooner.

(2) The city shall maintain TNR records for a minimum of three years, or as otherwise required by law.

(Ord. No. 2026-06, 5/5/2026)

(a) A violation of this chapter is punishable pursuant to section 1-33.

(b) TNR authorization may be modified, suspended and/or revoked based on a violation of this chapter, other applicable provision of this code or other law, and/or if reasonably necessary to protect against an immediate threat to the public health and safety, pursuant to the procedures of section 3-149.

(c) Nothing in this chapter shall prevent the city from acting regarding cats that present a threat to public health or safety, display aggression, or are suspected of rabies or other disease.

(d) It shall be unlawful for any person to feed any cat in or on any public area or property, unless specifically authorized to do so under this chapter. No person may feed a feral or community cat on private property in such a manner as to create a public nuisance pursuant to section 20-12 or other law.

(e) Denial, suspension for more than 30 days, and/or revocation of TNR authorization by the chief of police may be appealed by the TNR provider pursuant to Title 2, Chapter IX.

(Ord. No. 2026-06, 5/5/2026)