St. Peters, MO Animal Ordinances: Pet Limits (2026)

City Code Section 205.070 sets St. Peters' baseline household pet limit at three 'pet units.' A dog, cat, potbellied pig or unaltered rabbit each counts as one full pet unit, while five chinchillas, altered rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, mice or other rodent-related mammals over three months old together count as just one unit. The Health Manager can grant a temporary bump of two extra pet units for up to sixty days in an emergency, but otherwise three units is the ceiling for an ordinary St.

Peters, Missouri residence. Subsection B lets a household keep two additional pets on top of the three-unit cap if those animals are being actively fostered from a shelter registered with the Missouri Department of Agriculture under the Animal Care Facilities Act. Subsection C exempts an entire litter of puppies or kittens from the pet-unit count until the animals turn four months old, though only one litter can be exempt at any given time. A resident who wants more than three units without fostering must obtain a Domestic Animal Avocation Permit under Section 205.105; that permit raises the household ceiling to five pet units on a single-family lot, provided no more than three of those five units are 'Domestic Others' such as potbellied pigs, ferrets, hedgehogs or rodents.

Chickens are handled separately: a Hen Permit under Section 205.106 allows up to eight hens, no roosters, on residential lots of one acre or more, on top of whatever dog and cat pet units the household already keeps.