Rowlett, TX Animal Ordinances: Mandatory Spay/Neuter (2026)

" That mandate sits inside a broader ferret-specific registration scheme. Section 6-103(a) requires a registration certificate from the animal services division before any ferret can be kept at a residential dwelling, and (b) requires a current rabies vaccination certificate from a licensed veterinarian as part of that application. Section 6-103(c) sets a registration fee by council resolution, valid for one year, and (d) requires a metal registration tag worn on the ferret's collar at all times. If a ferret bites someone, § 6-103(f) requires a minimum ten-day quarantine at the animal shelter or under a licensed veterinarian's supervision, never on the owner's own premises.

Section 6-103(g) additionally requires any ferret in a public place to be on a leash no longer than six feet or in an adequate escape-proof enclosure. For dogs and cats, the Code takes an incentive rather than mandate approach: § 6-72 sets separate registration fees depending on sterilization status, charging a lower fee when the owner shows proof of spay or neuter and a higher one otherwise, with animals under six months charged their own fee tier. Section 6-6 layers on a household cap that also rewards sterilization: a single-family residential dwelling may keep up to ten adult cats or dogs, but no more than four of those may be unsterilized; duplex or multifamily households are capped at five adult cats or dogs with only one allowed to be unsterilized.

Owners wanting to exceed those caps must get a special permit from the animal services manager, supported by no-objection statements from neighbors within 150 feet, renewed annually for a fee. Separately, § 6-8(h) authorizes a trap-neuter-return program for feral cats, making participation a defense to unregistered or unvaccinated-animal charges.