Franklin County, WA Animal Ordinances: Cat Rules (2026)

Franklin County Code 6.04.080 directs the county health officer to quarantine any dog, cat or animal found anywhere in the unincorporated county that the officer suspects is infected with rabies, and specifically declares that a bite of a human by a dog, cat or animal is grounds for that suspicion. Quarantine begins with written notice to the owner or keeper, delivered to an adult on the premises if the owner cannot be reached directly, and cannot exceed ten days unless rabies is confirmed sooner. The health officer has discretion to let the animal be quarantined at the owner's own premises rather than impounded, so long as the quarantine terms are strictly kept.

While quarantined, the owner may not let the cat contact any other animal or person, and may not let it run at large on any street or public place in the unincorporated county or leave the premises unless it is enclosed by a secure fence; violating that confinement restarts the risk of impoundment and possible destruction if the animal is not redeemed within two days after quarantine ends. If an outbreak of rabies is diagnosed countywide, 6.04.080(D) makes it unlawful to harbor a dog (or, by the chapter's animal definition, any comparable pet) unconfined after public notice, and the health officer or a sheriff's deputy may destroy an animal found running at large during that period if it cannot be located or impounded after reasonable effort.