Oak Park, IL Animal Ordinances: Pet Limits (2026)

Section 5-4-11(B) sets dog limits that scale down with building type: up to three dogs in a single-family residence, including townhomes, but only two dogs per unit in a two- or three-flat building, and only two dogs per unit in a larger multi-family building of four or more units. Cat limits in section 5-4-11(C) turn on whether the cats go outdoors: where cats are allowed to run at large, the cap is two per single-family residence or one per multi-family unit; where cats are kept strictly indoors, the cap rises to four per single-family residence or two per multi-family unit, reflecting the lower nuisance and public-safety risk of cats that never leave the property.

Both the dog and cat caps carry the same carve-out for the institutional exceptions listed in section 5-4-10, such as licensed animal shelters. Section 5-4-11(D) then layers an overall household ceiling on top of the species-specific caps: the limit on the total number of animals, not counting fish, allowed in a single-family residence is ten, and a unit of multi-family residence is five. That means a household cannot simply max out its dog and cat allowances independently; every dog, cat, fowl, pigeon, rabbit, guinea pig and gerbil in the home counts toward that single combined ceiling, only fish are excluded from the count entirely.