(a) The required holding period for a stray cat impounded pursuant to this division shall be six business days, not including the day of impoundment, except as follows:

(1) If the public or private shelter has made the cat available for owner redemption on one weekday evening until at least 7 p.m. or one weekend day, the holding period shall be four business days, not including the day of impoundment.

(2) If the public or private shelter has fewer than three full-time employees or is not open during all regular weekday business hours, and if it has established a procedure to enable owners to reclaim their cats by appointment at a mutually agreeable time when the public or private shelter would otherwise be closed, the holding period shall be four business days, not including the day of impoundment.

(b) (1) Except as provided in Sections 17006 and 31752.5 and paragraph (2), stray cats shall be held for owner redemption during the first three days of the holding period, not including the day of impoundment, and shall be available for owner redemption or adoption for the remainder of the holding period.

(2) (A) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), a kitten under eight weeks of age that is reasonably believed to be unowned may be available immediately for adoption beginning on the day on which the kitten is seized, taken up, or impounded, through the entire holding period.

(B) Nothing in this paragraph supersedes or otherwise limits the requirements in Section 31751.3 or Sections 31760 to 31762, inclusive, to ensure that a kitten sold, given away, or transferred to a new owner is or will be spayed or neutered.

(c) (1) Except as provided in Section 17006, any stray cat that is impounded pursuant to this division shall, before the euthanasia of that animal, be released to a nonprofit, as defined in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, animal rescue or adoption organization if requested by the organization before the scheduled euthanasia of that animal. In addition to any required spay or neuter deposit, the public or private shelter, at its discretion, may assess a fee, not to exceed the standard adoption fee, for animals adopted or released. The public or private shelter may enter into cooperative agreements with any animal rescue or adoption organization.

(2) A kitten under eight weeks of age that is reasonably believed to be unowned and is impounded in a public or private shelter may, before the euthanasia of that animal, be made immediately available for release to a nonprofit, as defined in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, animal rescue or adoption organization if requested by the organization.

(d) During the holding period required by this section and before the adoption or euthanasia of a cat impounded pursuant to this division, a public or private shelter shall scan the cat for a microchip that identifies the owner of that cat and shall make reasonable efforts to contact the owner and notify the owner that the cat is impounded and is available for redemption.

(e) As used in this division, a “business day” includes any day that a public or private shelter is open to the public for at least four hours, excluding state holidays.

(Amended by Stats. 2019, Ch. 8, Sec. 1. (AB 1565) Effective January 1, 2020.)