While Livermore City ordinance does not have a leash law for cats, free-roaming cats can be a nuisance at times. All cats should be vaccinated annually against rabies; however, law does not require cats to be vaccinated. We strongly encourage owners to confine their cats indoors at all times. An indoor cat that escapes risks exposure to disease, traffic hazards, and other dangers.

There are several solutions to cat nuisance problems, try speaking with the cat's owner. Ask if they supply the cat with a litter box. In "sandbox" areas the feces should be removed. When you prune your roses or blackberry bushes, leave the cuttings, sharp thorns and all, in the area the cats frequent, or Scatter Cayenne Pepper in the area. You could try citrus, cats do not like the smell. Scatter lemon and orange peels in the area. Coffee grounds are supposed to ward off cats, try sprinkling it in the affected area.

In addition, humane traps may also be purchased, or rented from several local businesses for the capture of elusive nuisance cats. Traps must be checked at least once daily. All cats must be treated humanely and transported to the East county animal shelter. Animal Control will pick up trapped cats during regular business hours.

The Livermore Police Department Animal Control takes charge of picking up dead animals within the Livermore City limits. To report a dead animal please call 371-4987.

Owned dead animals can be picked up by Livermore Police Department Animal Control for a fee of $117.00. Other options are to contact your local veterinarian, or the East County Shelter. The East County Shelter's number is 803-7040.

If you wish to report a dead animal on or along any state maintained roadway in Alameda County, you should call Caltrans. The phone number for their local facility is 510-817-1717.

The Livermore Police Department Animal Control has a number to respond to emergency incidents such as bite cases or injured animals that occur before and after normal office hours. For emergency assistance, the number is 371-4987.

If your pet is injured the nearest Veterinary Emergency clinic is located at:

Tri-Valley Animal Emergency Center
7121 Amador Plaza Rd.
Dublin, CA 94568
925-771-5630

If you are experiencing a life threatening emergency dial 9-1-1.

If your pet becomes ill or is injured, you should call your veterinarian or the one nearest to you. Local veterinarians' phone numbers are listed in the yellow pages of the phone book under Veterinarians. For cases after your vet's normal hours, an emergency veterinary clinic provides care for sick or injured pets.

If you encounter an injured domestic animal that does not belong to you, please call Animal Control at (925) 371-4987. If an officer is available they will collect the animal and provide emergency veterinary care. If an officer is unavailable, the pet (not wildlife) may be taken to the Emergency Veterinary Hospital in Dublin. Please provide the veterinarian with an address of where the animal was found.

Tri-Valley Animal Emergency Center
7121 Amador Plaza Rd.
Dublin, CA 94568
925-771-5630

In the past, Livermore Animal Control has received requests regarding wildlife. Some requests were for animals that were just passing through a yard or had been attracted by food or a source of shelter.

Under most circumstances these problems can be resolved without trapping the animal. In situations involving injured wildlife, please contact Animal Control at 925-371-4987.

In keeping with current Fish and Game regulations, Animal Control will no longer be picking up animals that have been trapped by the general public.

Investigations of nuisances related to bats, skunks, opossums, raccoons, pigeons, chickens, rodents and fowl are handled by Alameda County Health Department Vector Control Services (510) 567-6800.

Once contacted Vector Control Services will make an appointment for service concerning wildlife to determine the extent of the problem and render an appropriate solution.

Trapping will only be done under extreme circumstances. The United States Department of Agriculture Animal Damage Control Representative should be available for most of the situations that trapping is determined to be the only solution.

Raccoons, opossums, skunks and other wildlife are common in residential neighborhoods. It is possible to co-exist with them if we take a few preventative measures.

1. Remove or cover possible food sources. Garbage cans, pet food etc.
2. Screen all attic, porch and foundation vents with heavy-duty mesh.
3. Professionally cap chimneys or cover with heavy gauge hardware cloth.
4. Close off passages to areas beneath porches and other crawl spaces
5. Prune or remove tree limbs hanging over the building.
6. Use pet-doors at you own risk. If conventional ones are used, bolt them tightly at night. Or purchase an electronic pet-door, designed to open for you pet only.
7. Remove unnecessary outdoor clutter such as old newspaper, junk, woodpiles and old cars.
8. Do not feed wildlife no matter how cute or tame they may appear.
9. Wildlife does not like the odor of mothballs or ammonia. Rags soaked in ammonia placed in areas wildlife frequent will help keep them away.
10. Nocturnal wildlife that have made a home for themselves in you attic or under your house do not like light or noise. A well placed drop light and radio will cause them to leave. After they are gone the openings where should be secured. View more information about Native California Wildlife or Wildlife Hospital Information.

Rabies is a disease caused by a virus carried in animals infected with the disease. The most common carriers of rabies are wild animals such as raccoons, skunks, bats, and other rodents. These animals can bite and infect a household pet that could then pass on the disease to people or other animals. Care should be taken to avoid situations that place your pet in contact with wild animals. It is important to know which animal caused the bite because it may need to be observed if it has not received a rabies vaccination. All dogs in the state of California are required by law to be vaccinated against rabies. It is also recommended that cats be given rabies shots. There are still animals, of course, that have not been vaccinated, so adults should caution children to use care around strange animals.

Although the law only requires that dogs be vaccinated for rabies, it is crucial that any cat that goes outside also be vaccinated for the disease. Free-roaming cats are more likely to find small sick mammals than dogs. They could also come into contact with a rabid animal without you ever knowing about it.

The law requires any un-vaccinated cat or dog exposed to rabies be quarantined for six months. The National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians recommends any un-vaccinated dog or cat exposed to rabies infection be euthanized immediately, another good reason to vaccinate cats.

All cats that go outdoors should be vaccinated for rabies at 3 months of age, and all dogs should be vaccinated for rabies at 4 months of age. These vaccinations should be repeated as required by the vaccine specifications.

In the United States, bats, skunks, foxes and raccoons are responsible for the spread of the disease. Even though less than 1 percent of bats carry the rabies virus, a bat found on the ground (one that a cat could catch) should be considered sick or injured and therefore a high risk. If you find a grounded bat, don’t touch it. Safely cover it with a box or jar and call Animal Control. You can’t be too careful. Rabies is a fatal disease for both your animal and you.

Any warm blooded mammals can be infected with the virus. Rabid animals excrete the rabies virus in their saliva. The primary means of virus transmission is from the bite of an infected animal. Dogs and cats whose rabies vaccinations are current and are exposed to a rabid animal should be re-vaccinated immediately and placed in quarantine for 30 days.

The only way to know if an animal that shows signs of the disease is infected is to humanely euthanize it and examine the brain tissue for presence of the virus. Any domestic or wild mammal that has bitten a human or pet and is showing signs suggestive of rabies should be humanely euthanized and the head given to a qualified rabies testing laboratory. With bats and other wild animals that have bitten humans or pets, the same applies even if they show no detectable signs of the disease.

Wild animals, by nature, avoid contact with humans. Never attempt to touch or handle any wild animal -- especially one that does not try to avoid you. This usually means the animal is sick. Do not let your pet or children near such an animal. Report any such occurrence to Livermore Animal Control.

Due to the recent detection of the West Nile Virus in Alameda and Stanlslaus Counties, Livermore Animal control has been receiving lots of phone calls from concerned citizens regarding the West Nile Virus.

The California Department of Health Services is requesting that the public call them directly to determine if the dead bird or tree squirrel meets the criteria for testing.

If the CDUS is unable to test a dead bird or tree squirrel because it is too degraded for testing, the bird or squirrel may be disposed of in the trash by the public. All carcasses should be handled using plastic gloves, a shovel, or a plastic bag followed by thorough hand washing.

Please report all dead birds and squirrels to the California Department of Public Health at 1-877-968-BIRD (2473) or westnile.ca.gov.