Washington, DC Animal Ordinances: Cat Rules (2026)

The District contracts out day-to-day animal control to a humane organization that serves as the Animal Care and Control Agency, and the Mayor can delegate enforcement authority to it, though only a sworn Metropolitan Police Department officer may serve a notice of violation under § 8-1808(a) outside the animal shelter's premises. Section 8-1802(c) directs that agency to promote two things: reducing euthanasia where treatment or adoption is possible, and using trap, spay-or-neuter, and return practices to manage the feral cat population, with an explicit instruction to prioritize adopting out any trapped kitten that is tamable rather than simply returning or euthanizing it.

Separately, § 8-1803(a) requires an owner of a cat over 4 months old to have that cat vaccinated against rabies, consistent with rules the Mayor issues, and § 8-1803(b) obligates the Mayor to run a free anti-rabies vaccination clinic every year. Unlike dogs, cats are not subject to the annual licensing requirement in § 8-1804, which by its own terms covers only dogs. The at-large prohibition in § 8-1808(a) still applies to cats through the definition in § 8-1801(1)(A), which covers any animal found off its owner's premises and not leashed or otherwise controlled.

If a cat is impounded, the combined cap on dogs, cats, rabbits, and ferrets an owner may keep without an animal hobby permit is 4, under § 8-1805(a), and the Agency must attempt to notify the owner, including scanning for a microchip, under § 8-1805(b).