Provo, UT Animal Ordinances: Cat Rules (2026)

020, Cat Licensing, is optional rather than mandatory the way dog licensing is: a cat may be licensed by submitting an application and paying the applicable fee and receiving a license tag as provided in this Chapter for dogs. 030(1). The presumption cuts against unlicensed cats: an unlicensed cat is presumed to be not owned by any person, unless the City or the South Utah Valley Animal Services Special Service District reasonably determines from the animal's appearance and the circumstances of capture that it is clearly subject to a claim of ownership.

That presumption matters for feral or free-roaming cats picked up by animal control, since the owner has to overcome it to reclaim the animal. 100 requires an owner or custodian of a female dog or cat in season to keep the animal confined in a building or secure enclosure, in addition to restraining it from running at large, so it cannot contact other dogs or cats and create a nuisance, unless the confinement would interfere with a planned breeding. 090 separately bars chaining, staking, or tethering any animal, including a cat, on unenclosed premises in a way that lets it cross the property line without the affected neighbor's permission.

080 requires anyone who finds a lost or strayed cat to notify the Provo Police Department within twenty-four hours, describing the animal and where it was found, before harboring it.