Mount Prospect, IL Animal Ordinances: Pet Limits (2026)

Section 20.207(A)(5) of the Mount Prospect Village Code, part of Chapter 20 (Animals), makes it unlawful to keep, harbor or possess more than three dogs, cats or combination of dogs and cats that are more than twelve weeks of age in any dwelling unit. The limit is a combined total, so two dogs and two cats is over the line just as four dogs is. Puppies and kittens up to twelve weeks of age do not count toward the three.

The definition of dwelling unit in the same subsection is deliberately broad: it includes all real property attached to the mailing address for the dwelling unit. That language closes the argument that an animal kept in a detached building, a fenced side yard or a separate portion of the lot sits outside the household count. Section 20.101 defines a dog as any live member of the classification Canis familiaris and a cat as any live member of the classification Felis catus, and it treats as an owner anyone who keeps or harbors the animal, has it in his or her care or acts as its custodian, so a foster or a friend's animal in your care counts toward your total.

Subsection C of section 20.207 exempts properly zoned, licensed and constructed zoos, animal shelters, veterinary hospitals, pounds, federally licensed scientific or research laboratories and educational or other licensed institutions. The animal control official, meaning the chief of police or a designated agent, enforces the chapter. Under section 20.601 the Village can issue a citation delivered to the violator personally, to a household member aged ten or upwards, or affixed to the main entrance of a building on the premises, and failure to comply can also lead to impoundment under article III.