Many provisions in the Animal Control Act have previously applied only to dogs. This bill changes most of the existing law to add "and cat" as well as "and ferret".  As such, cats and ferrets could be considered "dangerous" and/or "vicious" by law.  For instance a cat would be deemed a "dangerous animal" if ("unmuzzled and unleashed") he poses an "imminent THREAT of serious injury to a person" or is a cat who injures another companion animal.  A "vicious" cat would be one who actually "causes physical injury" to a person, if if seriously frightened and merely trying to get away.  A cat owner could, after a hearing, find themselves guilty of a felony, with the animal subject to "enclosure or euthanized".  The animal must be sterilized and microchipped and cannot be sold or given away without approval from the County or court.  A bad-actor at a  shelter, rescue, or in a veterinary office could be in prey serious trouble in Illinois.

HB4367 prohibits any "companion animal" to be "at-large". Any free roaming cats may be impounded. Ordinances of this type often lead to feral cats, stray cats and even owned free-roaming cats being rounded up and killed.  This is unheard of in a State law.

Cats would be required to be rabies vaccinated.  While we support rabies vaccination for cats at risk of exposure, we do not support unnecessary vaccination because risks of such vaccination, including fibrosarcoma.  Illinois is a State without a rabies threat.  The 2004 National Rabies Compendium was just published in December and shows Illinois had zero cases in cats tested for rabies, which has been the case for many years.  There is no report in this state of any case of rabies ever occurring from a cat bite .

The County Boards are authorized to require registration of cats and they may impose a registration fee with a differential for intact dogs or cats.  "Registration" is simply another word for a "cat tax", a money making gimmick with no rational other than building a larger bureaucracy.

The definition of feral cat has been narrowed.  The term "owner" now "may include a feral cat caretaker" participating in a trap-neuter-return program.  This specific designation of "owner" will deter many from initiating Trap-Neuter-Release programs to stop unchecked reproduction, as feral caretakers ill face increased liability, cat "registration" fees and compliance with the "at-large" prohibition or other laws.  An "owner" would be any person who knowingly permits an animal to remain on any premises occupied by the person (This would include rental property.)

HB4367 removes the current Illinois restriction on ANY regulations or ordinances specific to breed because it specifies that municipalities could not "prohibit ownership" based on breed specifically.  This opens the door to all the other laws that could be based on breed - mandatory spay/neuter, limits on numbers, etc.