Richmond, VA Animal Ordinances: Cat Rules (2026)

Section 4-306 makes it unlawful for the owner of a cat over six months old to let it be in a public place unsupervised unless the cat has been sterilized. The ordinance defines public place broadly to include streets, highways, alleys, sidewalks, parks, carnivals, shopping malls, flea markets and the areas in front of commercial establishments, so an unsupervised, unsterilized cat found roaming a strip-mall parking lot or a neighborhood sidewalk is a violation regardless of where the cat lives. The rule applies to every unsterilized cat even if the owner has separately purchased a breeding permit under Section 4-307, meaning a permit to breed does not excuse letting the cat roam unsupervised in public.

Richmond's companion definitions section, Section 4-305, works alongside this rule and adopts the Code's definition of sterilization as a surgical or chemical procedure performed by a licensed veterinarian that permanently prevents reproduction, so a cat is not considered sterilized under this section until that procedure is complete. The rule sits within the same article that requires every female dog and cat in heat to be confined under Section 4-244(b), reinforcing that Richmond expects unsterilized cats to stay off public property unless directly supervised by their owner.