Oxnard, CA Animal Ordinances: Pet Limits (2026)

Section 5-32 of the Oxnard Code of Ordinances provides that "no person shall maintain or permit to be maintained upon any premises in a residential zone of the city more than four dogs over the age of six months for any purpose," and Section 5-33 imposes the parallel cap for cats: no more than four cats over the age of four months on a residential property. Both limits are age-gated rather than absolute, so a household with several puppies or kittens below those thresholds is not automatically in violation, but once animals age past six months (dogs) or four months (cats), the household must bring its count down to four of that species or fewer.

The limits apply per premises in a residential zone, not per resident, so a single-family home with multiple adult occupants still faces one shared four-dog and four-cat ceiling. These caps sit in Division 1 of Chapter 5's Article I (Animals Generally), immediately alongside Section 5-27's livestock density rules and Section 5-30's poultry cap, showing the city regulates residential animal density by species group rather than a single blanket pet limit. Anyone wanting to keep more than four adult dogs or cats, for example a hobby breeder or rescue foster, has no special use permit pathway written into Sections 5-32 or 5-33 the way Section 5-29 provides for extra livestock; the ordinance simply does not authorize exceeding the residential cap for dogs and cats.