Pet Regulations - Curious

It depends on the city where you live... Here in mine, 3 is the limit for dogs and cats combined... No clue what is going to happen when they find out I am over 1. My landlord is ok with it, and that is what matters to me

Theres no limit to anything fur or reptile related in the UK, chickens are often kept in peoples gardens here especially with the current climate and people trying to save money and i do believe different areas require permission from the council for that. But i doubt its enforced so people would keep them anyway unless neighbours complained.

Would keeping rabbits entice alligators or crocs is that why they ban them in Australia?

Our city has a 3-animal limit for a lot our size, but they don't go out looking for them; it's just there for enforcement purposes, if there's a problem.

I have an acquaintance in Australia who has been trying to finish his hot rod and get it licensed for about 7 years. Still can't leave his driveway. Sounds like you guys might should take a look at Egypt.

So what will happen if your cat has kittens, and you can't find anyone to give the kittens to?

In the U.S. it's very much a local issue. There may be cities or counties with ordinances that limit the number of pets, but I've never been aware of it any place I've lived. If you're renting, landlords can put a limit (or no pet policy) in their contracts.

When I bought my house I was given a copy of the original conditions of purchase from some time in the early 1900's. I'm not allowed to have goats or hogs on the property and I'm not allowed to raise chickens or rabbits for commercial purposes. It doesn't say anything about cats or dogs. I take that to mean I can have as many cats in the house as I want.

I live in a small rural midwest town (US). No laws for anything besides rabies vacs and livestock. Otherwise one has to mind noise ordinance. So far there's no outright bans on exotics, but people need a license for certain animals (iirc, it cost $48).
Some towns have certain ordinances on dog breeds (BSL), some won't allow wolf hybrids in city limits, others don't want large snakes near schools.

I have 9 cats and several other pets. My neighbors have had up to 7 dogs in their backyard. Others all over town keep multiple small dogs, too.

I could have sworn that over there that it was very limited as to what non-native reptiles are allowed, if any. That only native but captive bred species were allowed - like bearded dragons, for example.


tillymoo - rabbits are a very invasive non native species over there that has caused damage to the native fauna and flora. That's actually the reason behind most of their bans and restrictions.

I live in the country w/ 18 cats - there are no limits here.

I know in one town there is a 3 cat & 3 dog maximum - I know someone w/ 3 dogs & 8 cats. They've had that many cats for 6 years now w/o any issue. The law exists but isn't regularly enforced unless there is an issue (ie - barking, lack of sanitary care, lack of vet care, etc).

Really? even indoors? I had a bunny Patches a long time ago. He lived inside. When I was really little like first grade, I had a friend who had tons of bunnies. They were all over the house and some outside. I don't remember how many, I didn't even try to count. I just loved patting them and holding them.

I think mrblanche was talking in generalities here, not your specific cats. What if someone's cat gets pregnant, has kittens, and they can't rehome them all?

But isn't that the reason you bought the house in the first place?

How would they know how many cats you had in your house, unless someone complained? How is the law enforced? Do they do home checks? I'm sure plenty of people do have more than 2 cats. What would be done if they found out?

In my town, there's a 5-dog limit, which I think is perfectly reasonable. I don't think there's a limit on cats, but I haven't tried too hard to learn about any limits. If there is a limit, I'm over it . I don't intend on anybody in authority ever finding out.

Our city allows 2 dogs and doesn't regulate cat ownership. We have 3 dogs and a foster so we had to get a kennel license. I've looked into many city ordinances since our Dane rescue has many applicants with 2+ dogs. Most cities that have limit laws only allow 2-3 dogs and probably half of them around here include cats.

The general rule is 7 per household and no more than 3 of one kind(max 3 animals in multi family dwellings).... I asked my city officials, the PD ( who is animal control) and the sheriffs about appling for a kennel lisense ... The reply was laughter and not to walk more than three at a time( that was when I was debateing 4 dogs)... With the cats MUCH more laughter as cats are not regulated at all by AC here( they are considered nearly wild animals only dogs and livestock are dealt with)... They said the rules are for mainly breeding issues and noise .... Now ,I live in town but my zoning is still rural thus I could have one chicken and /or one pig under 150lbs ( he he that limits it )or, one miniature horse and/or one goat .. Basically one chicken and one other livestock animal... Many have chicken coops or rabbit hutches with many more ...

There are no WILD animals within city limits permit or not( this unfortunately does cover wolf hybrids)... In the county you can have a tiger as a pet with nothing more than a license which is a form like a state Id

Where I am now there's no laws I know of anywhere in the county. Last county I was in many cities had a limit of 6. Some enforce it others have it on books and animal control knew I had 7/8(6 house 1 mine 1 stray i fed as he came) and he just told me city limits 6 you have 6 correct? YES! Never and issue he was great...truly for the animals and helped anyone he could. Also told me to license them next year as "new cats" moved soon after town over.

The cities with limits had a age-mostly 4 months(4 months being when they can get first rabies anyway I would think would be that age choice) where they didn't count it as a cat. Which meant a person I knew was always legal yet could have many times the limit-upwards of 6 females always nursing/about to pop, that really got me the wrong way cause A) never once gave her an issue and the kittens would be playing on the road/dog roaming in bad shape B) Not one ever license.

IMO it comes down to trying to prevent the flow of kittens but really what good is the law if not enforced. One of the 6 cat towns had a hoarder bust of 100 cats or so, many had similar markings so you could gather they never left the house.

Neighbors said later to paper that they smelled cats but never thought it was that bad. pics were unreal

OH something I looked into a long long time ago was a usda lic that would overrule the city. was pricey and alot of hassle not sure if it still applies but may be away around if anyone ever needs it:S!!! Spot checks paperwork but according to one ac officer it would have worked, nothing like drawing attention huh

As far as I know, there are no laws here regarding the amount of animals I can have. Plus, the local SPCA shelter knows how many I have of my own AND I foster for them.

So, you have a cat that has kittens, you can't find them homes, you don't want to surrender them to a shelter that would likely kill them, so what happens next?

I'm not sure the news has reached Australia (it IS a long boat ride!), but we had a little dust-up with a little island nation over by France over that sort of thing. Americans take very poorly to that "control every aspect of your life" sort of attitude. Sometimes to our detriment, of course, but often to the benefit of our freedoms.

Yes, it depends on the city, town, township or whatever local government. Where I live (Chicago) there is no pet limit, but Chicago is surrounded by suburbs and each suburb can have a different law so some suburbs do have limits, some don't; and each one that does might have a different rule on how many you can own. Some limits are as few as 2-3 total pets, some just limit the number of dogs or have a higher limit.
However most places don't require licensing for cats, only dogs. Plus many people don't even register/license their dogs anyway, so they often never know how many animals people have even in places where there is a limit.


Yeah something like that happened to me... Luckily there is no limit law here! I rescued a litter of 7 feral kittens. We already had 3 cats, so that was 10 (I also had 2 dogs, and some small pets.) The first kitten found a home at 12 weeks old, but after that I could not find homes for any of them until they were about 6 months old... I found homes for 2 more but ended up with 4 left from the litter. My vet originally had put all their records in 1 file since I had not planned to keep them and it was easier to keep track of the litter's vaccinations that way, and when I still had them after a few months (but was still trying to find homes) she asked me if I wanted to keep the records like that instead of making a new profile/file for each of them, because of the limit/town possibly having a problem with it. She lives in the suburbs so she was thinking about a limit, but there isn't any in the city.

In the USA, it depends on the state that you live in, as well as city and county. I am not aware of any states that set pet limits, that is usually left up to the city or local government. Many states do however, set rules for the types of pets you can own, such as exotics. Some have total bans and others very little rules (they way it should be, other than sound fair regulations that support responsible ownership). My state had very little regulations regarding exotics, that is until now. We are fighting to get this law repealed however. We have worked hard to get certain breeds of dogs off the vicious animal list and have won!! Now we will get this ban on exotics repealed as well. Animal owners in Ohio are strong and do not stand by and watch our rights to animal ownership be taken away.

We have laws here in our city for dogs but not for cats.

My Aunty breeds rabbits in Sydney, Australia!

Last I heard here cats were considered wild animals and AC would not come. Had a accross the hall neighbor call & tell us our black cat was hunched up in front of our (inside hallway) condo door. Our cat was at home! I was at work. Hubby called AC, gave our address & told them about cat. They would not come because it was a cat. Couldn't open door for fear of lettilng it in & having major confrontation with our cat.He called me at work. I came home, in front hall, & peered down hallway & it was not a cat, but a black PUPPY. I went in back patio door, and I called AC gave them our address & told them about puppy. They came in short order. AC officer had more than a few questions re where it came from, how it got in our hallway, etc & I felt as tho she thot we were trying to abandon it. The cat, tho, they had not cared a whit about!

There are no limits in New South Wales We can also have rabbits and ferrets as well. I think QLD is the only state that doesn't allow you to, which I don't think makes a lot of sense and I think kinda defeats the purpose, but there ya go.

I could be wrong, but I think you need a licence to keep birds here as well as reptiles?

Oi matey, slow down . I'm on that little island over by France, and we don't have legislation like that. You can have as many dogs and cats as you like, providing your landlord agrees, and by law you have to care for your animals species appropriate (this also includes enough living space for the animals, so this automatically narrows down how many animals you can keep), but that's all. (The only exception to this is covered by the Dangerous Dogs Act. You are not allowed to own or breed those)

Exotics are a different matter all together though, but that is understandable, it may also be a case of how you define exotics. If for instance you would want to keep a Serval, you would have to get a licence from your council, you would be vetted, and it would be checked out if you have the species appropriate facilities to keep a wild cat. All this falls under the DWA (Dangerous Wild Animals Act of 1976). Other animals may require a licence because they are neither native, nor really suitable for being held in captivity, or rare. That falls, iirc under section 10 of CITES ( The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species).

Other than that, there are people here keeping skunks, racoons, hedgehogs, lizards, tarantulas, snakes and I don't know what else

I hope I don't go against forum policy here, but this is a nice short linky from our police on the matter of keeping big(ish) cats, and other animals not considered your "normal" pets (Mods, if link not allowed, please remove):

http://www.northyorkshire.police.uk/...?articleid=467

Milanos x

Here in my County (San Luis Obispo, CA) the limit is 3. If you have more than 3, then you need to pay $26.00 per Year and expect 1 to 2 surprise inspections by Animal Services and then you receive your certificate signed by the main person at Animal Services.

I live in a 2-bedroom apartment that's not so huge, but there is so much light, so many perches and the cats have their own playroom and there are tunnels and toys everywhere, hiding places, etc. and I clean my 5 super-jumbo litter boxes 2x/day, whenever they've come over, and I told them I have 10, they ask "Did someone tell you I was coming over?" or " Where are the litter boxes, I don't smell anything". hee

It's worth it to pay for the permit. However, if you live in an unincorporated area (we have a town here that has not yet been incorporated), there is no limit. Although if someone complains about a hoarder, abuser, neglector, etc., Animal Services will come out.

Unfortunately, we have a lot of rooster fighting here. I hate that. (Mostly in the unincorporated town).

I live in a tourist/university area where you have the vast Pacific Ocean, about 7-10 miles of housing/apartments, and then you are in the country. It's really beautiful. (But not as beautiful as my cats!!) hee

Here a person can get a commercial permit for livestock. I know Savannah's aren't allowed in these here parts, or F1 Servils, I think up to F3.

I am not certain about the rest.

I don't think we have a limit here. (Nova Scotia). Not that I'd want anymore than a few pets at a time. Had 70 rabbits as a kid, that was enough! lol.
I wish people would step up though and actually pay attention to who owns pets and how many. Maybe we wouldn't have so many backyard breeders selling sick puppies