but i am seriously thinking whether or not to spend money on a cat trap. $4 a day with a $60 deposit at the animal shelter, and $5 a day with no deposit at the feed store.
should i trap that cat or not? there are other neighbors who have (only) outdoor cats, without collars.
If you have animal control there, just give them a call and ask if it is legal. While you're at it ask if there is a limit on how many cats a person can own.
They enforce the laws, so they ought to know them pretty well.
I would just trap it. If she does anything to your chickens, you have a defininte criminal case on her! As long as the law says you can have chickens and you keep them clean, then there is no way she can make you get rid of them.
Zoning has more to do with land use and city planning. Of coure if the area is zoned agricultural you can keep all the chickens you want... Other than that the municipal codes usually put stipulations on animals in town.