West Sacramento, CA Animal Ordinances: Cat Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Leash/at-large law
- does not apply to cats
- Licensing
- not required (dogs only)
- Liability
- owner liable for cat's damage
- Liability
- owner liable if cat bites/scratches
Summary
West Sacramento exempts domestic cats from its at-large and trespass laws, but owners remain liable if their cat damages property or injures a person or animal.
No owner of a domestic cat shall permit or suffer such cat to damage property, public or private or real or personal, or to bite, scratch or claw any human being or other animal which is the property of another.
Full Breakdown
Under WSMC § 6.16.010, the city's animal-at-large prohibition explicitly excludes "a domestic cat," and § 6.16.040 exempts cats from the trespass ban that applies to other animals. Cats also aren't required to be licensed: only dogs are, under Chapter 6.20. But § 6.16.210 makes an owner liable if their cat damages public or private property, real or personal, or bites, scratches, or claws a person or another animal that belongs to someone else. There's no feral-colony or trap-neuter-return ordinance in the code.
Violations & Fines
An owner whose cat damages property or injures a person or another animal can be held liable under WSMC § 6.16.210; the section doesn't set a fixed fine amount.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do cats have to be leashed or licensed in West Sacramento?
Is a cat owner responsible if their cat damages someone's property?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in West Sacramento
California rules heatmap·Compare West Sacramento to another location·View the California animal ordinances overview
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