Kirkwood, MO Animal Ordinances: Cat Rules (2026)

Section 4-37 defines a cat as 'at large' any time it leaves its owner's real property without wearing a collar bearing appropriate identification tags, or whenever it is creating a public nuisance as separately defined in the same section (molesting passersby, attacking other animals, trespassing on school grounds, damaging property, or excessive noise). Section 4-38 backs that up with a citywide vaccination-and-tag mandate: any owner whose cat is kept in Kirkwood at any point during the year, even temporarily, must have the animal vaccinated against rabies and registered, and must keep the vaccination current for as long as the type of vaccine used requires.

Subsection (d) makes it unlawful to own a cat that lacks both a current, unexpired registration tag and the certificate proving the vaccination. The Director of Public Services, acting as Health Commissioner under this chapter, can impound any cat found without an unexpired tag or found at large under § 4-43, and redemption under § 4-45 is barred until the owner produces a valid rabies certificate and must happen within three days of impoundment. Kirkwood's code does not carve out a separate rule for feral or community cat colonies; the only numeric exception in this article is the litter exception in § 4-5, which lets a mother cat's litter stay together above the three-cat household cap until the kittens turn two months old. Owners who conceal a cat from Public Services staff or interfere with enforcement can also be cited separately under § 4-35.