Cathedral City, CA Animal Ordinances: Pet Limits (2026)

The animal-keeping limit in Cathedral City, Riverside County, California, sits in Section 9.100.050 of the Municipal Code (Title 9, Planning and Zoning). Dogs and cats can be kept in any zone within the city, provided that no more than three of each, or a combination not to exceed three of these animals, are kept within a single legal lot. The counting unit printed in the code is the single legal lot, not the dwelling or the household, so the number applies to the parcel regardless of how many people live on it. Section 10.10.050 in Title 10 (Animals) repeats the same limit and points back to Section 9.100.050.

Section 9.100.060 carves out puppies and kittens: the offspring of animals are not counted toward the maximum allowed number until they are of weanable or self-sufficient age.

Several neighboring rules apply to every animal on the lot. Section 9.100.070 provides that no person, firm or corporation shall keep any kind of animal without housing it in an appropriate coop, barn, building or other enclosure approved by the city planner, so that it is safe, sanitary and appropriate for its purpose and does not create a nuisance. Section 9.100.040 gives the city planner the job of classifying any animal not specifically classified in the chapter, based on its probable negative impact on the health, safety and general welfare of the community.

Cathedral City also adopts County Code Title 6 (Animals) of the Riverside County Code by reference as its Animal Control Ordinance under Section 10.05.020, subject to the local amendments in Chapter 10.10. Section 10.10.010 resolves any conflict in favor of Chapter 10.10. Miniature pigs fall under Section 10.10.060, which governs them by County Code Title 6 and holds them to the maximum number allowed within a single legal lot under Chapter 9.100.