Kenosha County, WI Animal Ordinances: Cat Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Max leash length
- 10 feet
- License required
- Yes, with current vaccinations
- Where it applies
- County parks and park trails only
- Off-leash exception
- Dogs only, in designated dog park areas
- Penalty
- $40-$400 forfeiture, § 10.90
- Enforcing agency
- County Park Manager/Director; law enforcement
Summary
Kenosha County requires any house cat entering a County park or park trail to stay on a leash no longer than 10 feet and to be properly licensed with current vaccinations. The rule sits in the county park ordinance at Municipal Code § 10.70(9) and governs cats only on County park property, not a general at-large law for private property.
To bring or permit any animal to be in any County park or on any County park trail, except a dog or a house cat which is on a leash not exceeding 10 feet in length; except that dogs may be off-leash within areas of a County park officially designated by the County Park Manager/Director as “Off-Leash Dog Park Area” and when obeying all “Dog Park” rules, or to fail to immediately pick up and place into a garbage container any feces dropped by such dog in a park or on County park trail property, or to bring or permit a dog or cat in any County park unless such animal is properly licensed and has all required vaccinations and treatments.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 37 (2026), passed March 17, 2026).
Full Breakdown
" Dogs get a narrower off-leash carve-out inside areas the County Park Manager/Director has designated an "Off-Leash Dog Park Area," but that exception never extends to cats, which stay leashed everywhere on park property. 60(1) reinforces the licensing piece for the county's dog-park tag system, noting that no annual license is granted "without a Kenosha County dog license or current license from the municipality where the dog is kept" -- the county itself does not issue cat licenses; licensing is handled by the municipality where the cat lives, such as the City of Kenosha, and enforcement checks for that license at the park gate.
Outside County park property, Kenosha County has no separate at-large or feral-colony ordinance for cats; this leash-and-license standard is a park-admission rule, not countywide animal control. 80, and the Department of Public Works Committee that runs the parks can also revoke park privileges for repeat violations. The rule was last codified under Ord. 24 (2022).
Violations & Fines
Violating § 10.70(9), including bringing an unleashed or unlicensed cat into a County park, is punishable under the Chapter 10 penalty section, § 10.90: a forfeiture of not less than $40 nor more than $400 plus the costs of prosecution, and imprisonment in the County Jail for up to 90 days if the forfeiture goes unpaid. County law enforcement officers may arrest a violator without a warrant under § 10.80 while on park property.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a license to bring my cat into a Kenosha County park?
Can my cat go off-leash in a Kenosha County dog park?
Does Kenosha County license cats county-wide?
What happens if I bring an unleashed or unlicensed cat into a County park?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Kenosha County
Compare Kenosha County to another location·View the Wisconsin animal ordinances overview
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