Fresno, CA Animal Ordinances: Cat Rules (2026)

Section 10-308(a) states the prohibition applies to 'any animal, except a cat,' and Section 10-301(c) confirms it by defining 'habitually at large' as an animal 'other than a cat' found loose three or more times in twelve months and referred to a Hearing Officer. That two-part carve-out means Fresno's escalating at-large process, written warning, then administrative hearing, then orders to alter, confine, tether, forfeit, or remove the animal, simply does not reach cats, whether owned or feral. The City also has no cat-specific licensing requirement: Section 10-303 requires a paid license and rabies-vaccination proof only for 'any dog over the age of four months,' with no parallel section requiring cat licenses.

Cats are not entirely unregulated, however, Section 10-328's breeding, transfer and sale rules (permits, spay/neuter licensing, $1,000 civil penalty for uncorrected violations) apply to 'dogs and cats' equally, and a cat that bites or injures someone can still be investigated under the dangerous-animal provisions of Article 3. But routine roaming, feral colonies, and stray cats fall outside the impoundment and licensing machinery that governs dogs.