San Luis Obispo County, CA Animal Ordinances: Cat Rules (2026)

002 limits any single lot, dwelling, or living accommodation in the unincorporated county to three dogs and three cats over four months old; a household that needs more can apply to the Division of Animal Services for a variance permit under Sec. 003, which the chief animal control officer grants or denies based on housing quality, neighborhood impact, and any prior animal-welfare history, and which expires December 31 each year. 004 targets only unaltered cats: no owner may permit one to roam at large, and anyone who finds an unaltered cat roaming may, at their own expense, have it spayed or neutered by a veterinarian.

002 layers on a rabies duty triggered by roaming, not ownership alone: any cat allowed to roam at large must be vaccinated against rabies virus with a vaccine approved by the California Department of Public Health, and revaccinated on the label's schedule for as long as it keeps roaming. A cat kept strictly indoors is not swept into that vaccination duty. 07, San Luis Obispo County's dog-licensing chapter, has no cat counterpart: cats are never licensed or tagged by the Division, so there is no annual cat license fee, tag, or renewal deadline to track.

The code likewise contains no feral-colony, trap-neuter-return, or barn-cat registration provision; colony management here runs through nonprofit rescue practice rather than county ordinance. Enforcement sits with the Division of Animal Services under the chief animal control officer, part of the County Health Agency established at Sec. 001.