Rochester Hills, MI Animal Ordinances: Cat Rules (2026)

Chapter 14 of the Code defines 'animal' in § 14-1 to mean 'dogs, cats, livestock, poultry or any vertebrate animal other than man,' which pulls cats into every general animal provision in Article I. That means a Rochester Hills cat owner is bound by § 14-5, which bars cruel treatment, neglect, abuse, or use of any animal 'for fighting or baiting'; § 14-6, which bars letting any place where an animal is kept become 'unclean or unwholesome to an extent that it becomes a health problem or nuisance to abutting residences'; § 14-7, which bars harboring 'any animal that disturbs the peace by loud noises at any time of the day or night'; and § 14-12, which requires anyone in control of an animal on public property or right-of-way to pick up and remove its feces.

Section 14-9(a) also bars permitting 'a dangerous animal of any kind' to run at large in the city, a catch-all broad enough to reach a cat if one is found dangerous, though the running-at-large provision aimed at loose domestic animals in § 14-9(b) lists only cattle, horses, swine, sheep, goats and poultry and does not name cats or dogs. Article II's licensing and at-large scheme (§§ 14-41 through 14-84) is written for dogs specifically and does not extend a licensing or leash mandate to cats.

Enforcement of chapter 14 falls to Oakland County Sheriff's Office deputies and county animal control personnel under the 'law enforcement officer' definition in § 14-1, and any animal taken into custody for a chapter 14 violation is impounded by the county under § 14-3.