Tuscaloosa, AL Animal Ordinances: Cat Rules (2026)

Tuscaloosa's Chapter 4 (Animals and Fowl) addresses cats mainly through its pet-limit and rabies-related rules rather than a feline leash requirement. The city caps households at three (3) cats, with an exception for kittens under three months of age. The dominant statewide requirement affecting all cat owners is Alabama's rabies law, Ala. Code Section 3-7A-2, which mandates that owners cause their dogs, cats, and ferrets to be immunized against rabies by a licensed veterinarian (or the county rabies officer) when the animal reaches three months of age, with subsequent doses at the intervals required by the vaccine's licensing. Owners must keep current proof of vaccination; Section 3-7A-6 penalizes those without current evidence. The rabies statute also expressly preserves municipal authority to regulate and control cats, including prohibiting them from running at large. As a practical matter, cat owners in Tuscaloosa should keep cats vaccinated, retain the rabies certificate and tag, stay within the three-cat household cap, and avoid letting cats create a nuisance on neighboring property. There was no separate cat-specific leash-length mandate identified beyond the general at-large and nuisance framework.