Kitsap County, WA Animal Ordinances: Cat Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- License deadline
- 30 days from acquisition or residency
- License terms
- 1-year, 3-year, or lifetime
- At-large rule
- Cats must be restrained or under direct control
- Feral cat status
- Not considered a 'pet' under Title 7
- Unredeemed feral cat
- May be adopted or euthanized after 24 hours
- Jurisdiction
- Unincorporated Kitsap County only
Summary
Kitsap County requires every adult cat in the unincorporated area to be licensed within thirty days of acquisition or residency, with one-year, three-year, or lifetime terms available. Cats found roaming loose without restraint or direct owner control violate the county's at-large infraction, and unowned feral cats are handled separately from licensed pets.
(a) Licenses. All adult dogs and cats shall be licensed within thirty calendar days from the date the owner acquires the animal or takes up residence in the county. Licenses may be obtained for one-year, three-year or lifetime durations. License fees shall be collected for unlicensed cats and dogs with all interactions with the animal control authority. (b) License Expiration. Lifetime licenses never expire and run the lifespan of the animal. For one- or three-year licenses, they shall expire either one calendar year or three calendar years from the date of issuance.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4864424; v0 updated 2025-12-08; through 12-08-2025).
Full Breakdown
010(a) requires all adult dogs and cats in unincorporated Kitsap County to be licensed within thirty calendar days of the date the owner acquires the animal or takes up residence in the county. 010(b) makes lifetime licenses run for the animal's life with no expiration, while term licenses expire one or three calendar years from issuance. 010(d) exempts cats in temporary veterinary or animal-welfare custody, cats owned by a licensed commercial pet facility or hobbyist facility, and service dogs from the fee. 020. 030(1); the animal control authority may return the cat to a known owner without formal impoundment for a set fee, or impound it.
020(13) as one with no apparent owner or identification that is wild, untamed, or unable to be handled, and specifies that a feral cat is not a "pet" under Title 7. 010(f)(3), an impounded feral cat that goes unredeemed may be given to an animal welfare organization, adopted, or euthanized no sooner than twenty-four hours after impoundment, a shorter window than the seventy-two hours to seven days allowed for owned cats. These provisions apply only to the unincorporated county.
Violations & Fines
Owning an unlicensed adult cat past the thirty-day window exposes the owner to license fees collected at any animal control interaction under KCC 7.08.010(a). Letting a cat run at large is a Class 1 civil infraction under RCW 7.80.120 per KCC 7.14.030(1), and the animal may be impounded under KCC 7.10.010; unredeemed unlicensed cats may be adopted out or euthanized after seventy-two hours.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to license my cat in unincorporated Kitsap County?
What happens if my cat gets loose in Kitsap County?
Are feral cat colonies regulated differently than owned cats?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Kitsap County
Compare Kitsap County to another location·View the Washington animal ordinances overview
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