Oak Creek amends municipal code to cap cats at three per household; dog limits unchanged

The Oak Creek Common Council on Jan. 21 adopted an ordinance amending section 7.44 of the municipal code to limit the number of cats that may be kept as pets to three per household; the existing limit of three dogs remains unchanged.

Health Officer Darcy Du Bois told the council the change would align Oak Creek with most neighboring municipalities in Milwaukee County and make enforcement of cat-related complaints clearer. "We are one of only two municipalities in the county that do not have either a limit on number of cats that can be kept as pets or total number of pets," Du Bois said. She told council members the health department receives frequent complaints and that without a local limit it can be difficult to resolve issues such as feeding in the neighborhood and cat-hoarding situations.

Council members asked about exceptions for breeders and how the city would determine existing counts; the clerk’s office noted the code retains language allowing for exceptions for litters (pets kept no longer than five months for licensing) and that licensing records maintained by Milwaukee-area animal control would be used to determine how many animals were already licensed at a given residence. The council adopted the ordinance by roll call vote.