Rohnert Park, CA Animal Ordinances: Cat Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Spay/neuter trigger
- any cat over 4 months roaming unconfined
- Impound sterilization window
- 15 calendar days to alter or prove sterilization
- License required
- annual tag for cats four months and older
- Ownership cap
- 4 cats per premises without a kennel license
- Feral trapping notice
- required before trapping more than 2 cats a month
- First infraction fine
- up to $100, rising to $500 for repeats
Summary
Rohnert Park requires every cat over four months old to wear a city license tag and bars letting an unaltered cat roam loose on any public or private property. Animal control can impound a violating cat and give the owner fifteen days to sterilize it or prove it already is. Residents trapping more than two feral cats a month must notify neighbors first.
No person owning or otherwise having a cat over four months of age in his or her care, charge, control, custody or possession shall cause, permit or allow such cat to be unconfined in or upon any public street, road, alley or other public or private place, including the exterior yards of the animal owner's property, unless such cat is spayed or neutered. An animal control officer may seize or impound every cat found in violation of this section and shall require the owners or guardians of the cat to either spay or neuter the cat within fifteen days of such violation or produce a certificate of sterilization proving that the cat is already altered. ... Any person who is intending to trap more than two stray or feral cats on their property within a month, must post such intentions by notifying neighbors on both sides, behind, and across such property. This can be accomplished by anonymously leaving a flyer of such intent on each doorstep of surrounding dwellings. ... Every owner of a dog or cat which is four months of age or older, and which is kept in the city, shall obtain a license tag and annual license for such dog or cat from the licensing agency and shall pay the annual fee imposed by a resolution of the city council.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 51 Update 2).
Full Breakdown
150 bars any cat over four months old from running unconfined on a public street, alley, or public or private place, including the owner's own yard, unless the cat is spayed or neutered. An animal control officer who finds a violating cat may seize or impound it, and the owner then has fifteen calendar days to have the cat sterilized or to produce a veterinarian's certificate proving it already is. 10 before the shelter supervisor decides whether sterilization can be deferred; that decision is final.
010 requires an annual license tag for every cat (and dog) four months or older kept in the city, obtained from the licensing agency and paid at a fee the city council sets by resolution; refusing to show the tag to a public safety or animal control officer on demand is itself a violation. 140 caps ownership at four cats per premises without a hobby or commercial kennel license. 390 requires anyone planning to trap more than two stray or feral cats on their property within a month to post notice on the doorsteps of neighboring properties on both sides, behind, and across the street before doing so. 08.
Violations & Fines
Letting an unaltered cat run loose draws impoundment and a fifteen-day sterilization order; ignoring it results in a citation. Failing to license a cat four months or older, or refusing to show the tag on an officer's demand, is also a code violation. Under the citywide penalty scheme in § 1.16.010, most Title 6 violations are infractions carrying fines up to $100 for a first offense, $200 for a second within twelve months, and $500 for each further repeat, escalating to a misdemeanor after three convictions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Rohnert Park require cats to be spayed or neutered?
Do I need a license for my cat in Rohnert Park?
What are the rules for trapping feral cats in Rohnert Park?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Rohnert Park
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