Salinas, CA Animal Ordinances: Cat Rules (2026)

Unlike dogs, cats in Salinas are not required to be leashed or confined to satisfy Section 7-1, which expressly exempts domesticated cats from the at-large restraint standard applied to dogs and other animals. Licensing follows the same voluntary pattern: Section 7-8(b) states any person owning, keeping, harboring, or having custody of a cat four months of age or older 'may obtain a license,' in contrast to the mandatory 'shall' used for dogs in Section 7-8(a). Where the code does regulate cats closely is feral and abandoned colonies.

Section 7-11(b) makes it unlawful to feed a feral or abandoned cat that has not been spayed or neutered, unless the feeding is done to trap the cat for sterilization or to surrender it to a local animal shelter. Critically, the section does not stop at unaltered cats: it states that any person who continually feeds any feral or abandoned cat, including one that has already been spayed or neutered, becomes responsible for that cat in the same manner as if the person owned it, including providing any veterinary care the animal needs.

That responsibility clause is what converts casual colony feeding into an enforceable ownership duty under the broader animal-care standards of Section 7-11(a), which requires humane care, adequate food and water, shelter, and veterinary attention for any animal a person is deemed to own.