Allentown, PA Animal Ordinances: Cat Rules (2026)

Chapter 163, Article I defines a "community cat" as a free-roaming cat without discernible or microchip identification that one or more people may care for; an ear-tipped cat signals it has been sterilized and vaccinated against rabies at least once, and such cats are exempt from the licensing, registration, at-large, nuisance, and abandonment provisions of the article. A "community cat caregiver" who feeds, cares for, or shelters such a cat is not treated as the cat's owner, custodian, harborer, or keeper for any purpose under the chapter.

Under § 163-3, any cat three months or older cannot be kept, harbored, or held for longer than 14 days without current rabies vaccination proof, furnished on request to the Animal Control Officer or public health officials, though community cats and their caregivers are exempt from this too. 1, added by Ordinance No. 15855 in 2022, separately bans declawing a cat by any means unless the procedure is necessary for a therapeutic purpose addressing an existing illness, infection, disease, injury, or abnormal condition, not a cosmetic reason; violating this carries a civil penalty of up to $500 per cat, with each declawed cat a separate violation.

Unlike dogs, which must be licensed through the Lehigh County Treasurer under § 163-2, Allentown's code does not impose a city or county cat-licensing requirement. Article III (§ 163-33) separately bars retail pet shops from selling cats at all, though shelters and rescues may still display cats for adoption in a pet shop's space.