Santa Ana, CA Animal Ordinances: Cat Rules (2026)

Chapter 5 of the Santa Ana Municipal Code defines 'animal' broadly to include cats, and 'domesticated animal' expressly lists the 'housecat (felis catus)' under Section 5-1(f). That means the chapter's general restraint and nuisance rules apply to cats even though the licensing scheme in Sections 5-50 through 5-55 is written exclusively around dogs, a cat owner never has to buy a tag or vaccination certificate the way a dog owner does. Restraint is governed by Section 5-14, which requires an owner to keep any animal 'exclusively upon such owner's premises' unless properly restrained, and bars letting any animal 'run at large' or trespass onto another person's property without consent.

A cat picked up running loose is deemed 'estray' under Section 5-1(h), 'any animal found running at large upon any land within the city', and Section 5-14(h) makes an animal found at large or trespassing 'prima facie not to be under the control of the owner,' declaring it a nuisance subject to seizure and impoundment under the chapter's general impoundment rules. A private citizen who takes up a stray cat must notify the animal control officer within seventy-two hours under Section 5-13, describing the animal and where it is held, and must surrender it on demand.

Violations of the restraint provisions are misdemeanors under Section 5-3, with each day of a continuing violation charged as a separate offense; enforcement authority, including entry onto premises on reasonable cause, comes from Section 5-2.