File #: Int 1471-2025    Version: * Name: Cats in retail food stores.
Type: Introduction Status: Committee
Committee: Committee on Health
On agenda: 11/12/2025
Enactment date: Law number:
Title: A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to cats in retail food stores
Sponsors: Keith Powers , Francisco P. Moya, Sandy Nurse, Frank Morano
Council Member Sponsors: 4
Summary: This bill would override the provisions of the New York City Health Code that prohibit owners of retail food stores from keeping a cat within their store. Importantly, however, this bill standing alone would not permit store owners to keep cats in their stores. Instead, further action would be required by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets to change its regulations prohibiting the keeping of live animals within stores. Additionally, this bill would require the Office of Animal Welfare, in collaboration with the Department of Small Business Services, to establish a program to provide free vaccinations and spaying and neutering services to cats residing in retail food stores and to conduct an outreach campaign to inform retail food store owners regarding these programs.
Attachments: 1. Summary of Int. No. 1471, 2. Int. No. 1471, 3. Memorandum in Support, 4. November 12, 2025 - Stated Meeting Agenda

Int. No. 1471

 

By Council Members Powers, Moya, Nurse and Morano

 

A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to cats in retail food stores

 

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

 

Section 1. Title 17 of the administrative code of the city of New York is amended by adding a new chapter 23 to read as follows:

CHAPTER 23

ANIMALS

§ 17-2301 Definitions. As used in this chapter the following terms have the following meanings:

Director. The term “director” means the director of animal welfare.

Food service establishment. The term “food service establishment” means any establishment inspected pursuant to the restaurant grading program established pursuant to subdivision a of section 81.51 of title 24 of the rules of the city of New York, or a successor provision.

Office. The term “office” means the office of animal welfare.

Retail food store. The term “retail food store” means any establishment where food and food products offered to the consumer are intended for off-premises consumption, excluding pharmacies and food service establishments.

§ 17-2302 Cats in retail food stores. a. No provision of this code, any local law, or any rule of an agency shall be construed as prohibiting the keeping of a live cat in a retail food store. Any agency rule that is inconsistent with this subdivision is hereby superseded to the extent of such inconsistency. The director may promulgate rules regarding the keeping of live cats in retail food stores.

b. Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to limit or interfere with the actions of any state agency acting pursuant to applicable state law or regulations.

§ 17-2303 Vaccination program. a. Subject to appropriation, no later than 180 days after the effective date of the local law that added this chapter, the director, in collaboration with the commissioner of small business services, shall establish a voluntary program to provide vaccinations to cats that are kept in retail food stores, at no cost to the owner of the retail food store.

b. The director, in collaboration with the commissioner of small business services, shall conduct an outreach campaign to inform retail food store owners about the vaccination program. The outreach campaign shall be conducted in English and the designated citywide languages as defined in section 23-1101.

§ 17-2304 Spay and neuter program. a. Subject to appropriation, no later than 180 days after the effective date of the local law that added this chapter, the director, in collaboration with the commissioner of small business services, shall establish a voluntary program to provide spaying and neutering services to cats that are kept in retail food stores, at no cost to the owner of the retail food store.

b. The director, in collaboration with the commissioner of small business services, shall conduct an outreach campaign to inform retail food store owners about the spaying and neutering program. The outreach campaign shall be conducted in English and the designated citywide languages as defined in section 23-1101.

§ 2. This local law takes effect immediately.

REC

LS #19083, 19185

10/2/25 3:15 PM