Caldwell, ID Animal Ordinances: Cat Rules (2026)

Caldwell folds pet cat limits into the animal regulations of its zoning code rather than a separate animal control chapter. Section 10-12-03-3(6)(D)(2) lets a household keep pets in set numbers regardless of lot size, provided the performance standards in the section are followed and the household does not keep more than three different types of pets at once. Cats are capped at five per household under that table, alongside limits such as ten chickens (no roosters), three dogs, two ducks, two geese, two miniature or pygmy goats, one miniature horse, ten pigeons or doves, one potbellied pig and five rabbits, while nonprohibited reptiles and rodents carry no numeric limit.

The code's own worked example makes the interaction explicit: one household could keep five cats, ten chickens and one goat as pets, hitting the three-type cap with cats, chickens and goats. A household that wants to exceed the numeric limits, or keep more than three different types of pets, needs either a lot or parcel of at least half an acre or special use permit approval from the city. Cats and other pets kept under this section remain subject to the broader animal regulations in the same article: they must be kept in a clean, sanitary enclosure, confined to the owner's property at all times unless leashed, and cannot become a public nuisance through excessive noise, harassment of passersby, habitual attacks on other animals, trespassing, or accumulated waste odor.