Seattle, WA Animal Ordinances: Pet Limits (2026)

A sets the baseline pet count for Seattle at up to three small animals per dwelling unit or business establishment, a category that in ordinary use covers dogs, cats, and similar companion animals kept on a residential lot (an urban farm's animals are counted separately and excluded from this cap). The rule treats an accessory dwelling unit, a backyard cottage or basement apartment, as part of the same household for counting purposes in Neighborhood Residential zones rather than as its own separate three-animal allowance, so a property with a main house and a DADU doesn't get two independent pet counts.

Larger lots do get more room, though: in Neighborhood Residential zones, a lot of at least 20,000 square feet is allowed four small animals instead of three, and for every additional 5,000 square feet of lot area beyond that 20,000-square-foot line, one more animal is permitted, so the cap scales up gradually rather than jumping straight to an unlimited count on big lots. Whatever the total, no more than one miniature potbelly pig may be kept per dwelling unit or business establishment even though the pig itself counts as a small animal under subsection B.

And once a property is keeping four or more animals, any accessory structure built to house them, including a kennel, has to be sited at least 10 feet from any other lot in a residential zone, adding a physical buffer once the household crosses that four-animal threshold.