Yucaipa, CA Animal Ordinances: Cat Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Cattery threshold
- Five or more cats kept at one place
- Permit issuer
- San Bernardino County health officer, with annual fee
- Private cattery limit
- Five cats only, all one owner, no breeding for sale
- At-large rule
- All cats confined and not allowed to run at large
- Cage floor space
- Three square feet per adult cat
- Penalty
- Misdemeanor: fine up to $1,000, up to six months jail, or both
Summary
In the City of Yucaipa, a cattery is a place where five or more cats are kept, and its operator must obtain a permit from the San Bernardino County health officer and pay an annual fee. Cats in a cattery must be confined and cannot run at large, and violations are misdemeanors.
Every person, firm or corporation engaged in the operation, control or management of a cattery as herein defined, shall obtain a permit to operate from the county health officer, and shall pay an annual fee as follows: For a cattery having the number of cats indicated, the fees shown in the city fee schedule shall apply for the following types and sizes of catteries: A. Private cattery (limited to five cats only; if over five cats, the cattery is classified as a commercial cattery and the provisions of the commercial cattery apply); B. Commercial cattery (five to ten cats, eleven to twenty cats, and twenty-one to thirty cats).
Full Breakdown
Chapter 6.16 of the Yucaipa Municipal Code defines a cattery as a place where five or more cats are kept, excluding government-run animal shelters and veterinary hospitals (§ 6.16.010). It sorts catteries into breeding (more than four cats kept primarily for breeding), boarding, boarding and breeding, and private. A private cattery holds more than four but not exceeding five cats three months of age or older, all belonging to the same owner and kept as pets, with no breeding of kittens for sale. Under § 6.16.020, a private cattery is limited to five cats; over five makes it a commercial cattery, priced in tiers of five to ten, eleven to twenty, and twenty-one to thirty cats under the city fee schedule.
Operating standards are in § 6.16.030. All cats shall be confined and not allowed to run at large. Each adult cat needs three square feet of cage floor, each cage must be at least two feet high, and no more than two adult breeding cats can share a cage. Inside runs give three square feet per cat with no more than five cats per pen, each pen gets a scratching post, litter is disposed of daily, and boarded cats are caged individually behind a floor to ceiling solid partition unless they belong to the same owner.
The county health officer can enter a cattery to investigate or enforce (§ 6.16.050) and can revoke a permit on ten days' notice by United States mail, with a reconsideration hearing available within the ten day period before a different deputy (§ 6.16.060). Licensing of individual pet cats is not set out in Chapter 6.16; Chapter 6.04 adopts Title 3, Division 2 Animals of the San Bernardino County Code by reference.
Violations & Fines
Any violation of Chapter 6.16 is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00), imprisonment in the county jail for not more than six months, or both (§ 6.16.070). The county health officer can also revoke the cattery permit for any violation under § 6.16.060, and Title 6 violations can be punished under Chapter 1.12 of the Yucaipa Municipal Code per § 6.04.050.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many cats can I keep in the City of Yucaipa before I need a permit?
Do cats have to be kept off the street in Yucaipa?
Who can pull a Yucaipa cattery permit?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Yucaipa
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Cat Rules in Nearby Cities
How other cities in San Bernardino County handle cat rules.