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

Sonoma County addresses cats in Article VI of its Animal Regulation Ordinance (County Code Chapter 5). The key mandatory requirement is rabies vaccination: cats four months of age or older are required to be vaccinated against rabies. Veterinarians practicing in the county must submit a copy of each cat rabies vaccination certificate they issue to the director, on or before the fifteenth day of the month following issuance, which supports county rabies tracking. Unlike dog licensing, cat registration is voluntary; any person who owns or keeps a cat over four months of age may choose to register it with Animal Services by written application and a registration fee. The ordinance allows registration fees to be waived or reduced for spayed or neutered cats and for cats owned by people sixty-two years of age or older, encouraging both registration and sterilization. Voluntary registration helps reunite lost cats with owners. The county's licensing partner, DocuPet, handles cat registration for unincorporated Sonoma County, with a cat license fee in the unincorporated area. There is no general county leash requirement for cats; the at-large and nuisance concepts in Chapter 5 focus on dogs, while sanitation and nuisance provisions can apply to any animal kept on a property.