Walla Walla County, WA Animal Ordinances: Cat Rules (2026)

The county's Table of Minimum Standards for Animals (WWCC § 17.26.020) treats dogs and cats as one combined category: no more than four of either or both, together, on a parcel of one-half acre or less, and no more than six combined on anything larger. Any cage, pen, run or kennel holding them must sit at least 10 feet from a property line, stay clean and sanitary, and be disinfected routinely, with waste removed daily under county/city health department rules. This is a zoning standard, so violations run through WWCC Chapter 14.13: the community development director issues a notice of violation and order, and failure to correct by the deadline brings a $250-per-day civil penalty (§ 14.13.090) and, for willful refusal, a gross misdemeanor punishable by up to 90 days in jail or a $1,000 fine (§ 14.13.100).

Unlike dogs, cats are never licensed: WWCC § 6.04.020 requires a license only for 'any dog over six months of age' in a dog control zone, and no parallel section exists for cats. Cats are still animal-control subjects for bite and rabies purposes. Under WWCC § 6.04.380, any bite by a cat must be reported to the county health officer, who can order a 10-day rabies-observation confinement, at the owner's expense, either at a kennel/clinic or at home under a signed confinement agreement; destroying or removing the cat before that confinement is complete is unlawful.

Feral colonies matter too: WWCC § 6.04.010.N defines 'owner' as anyone 'owning, keeping or harboring' an animal, and an animal 'is deemed to be harbored if it is fed or sheltered for three consecutive days or more' - so a person who regularly feeds a feral cat colony is legally its owner for enforcement purposes. Six or more cats over six months on one lot also meets the definition of a 'commercial kennel' under § 6.04.010.L.