When does owning dogs, cats become hoarding in GA? Here’s what the law says

If you are a fellow pet lover and have a furry friend (or two or three), you know how nice it is to come home to their wagging tail or fluffy fur.

So much so that you want to spoil them with treats, snuggles and bring even more playful pups or cute kittens home.

But when is having too many pets against the law? Surely there’s not a law about that, right? Well, let’s see what Georgia law says.

Is there a legal limit of how many dogs or cats you can have in your GA home?

Technically, no. There is not a state law regarding pet ownership limits. However, there are several city or county ordinances and rules that pet owners have to follow, some of which do limit pets.

In Macon-Bibb County, there is no limit on the number of animals you can have in your home, but there are certain rules about types of dogs you can have in “a single premise.” For example, in Macon, pet owners can only have one “vicious” dog at a time in their home. This is a city ordinance, but is based on Georgia’s Responsible Dog Owner Act.

Additionally, there are also Macon ordinances regarding rabies vaccinations for pets and sterilization requirements.

Of course, while there aren’t any limits on the number of pets in Macon homes, there are several rules made by apartment complexes that only allow up to two pets per apartment.

In Columbus on the other hand, there are rules regarding the number of pets you have. While Columbus doesn’t have hard rules on the number of pets you can legally own, there are rules to know about if the number of pets is six or more:

“Any person who maintains within or adjoining his property a combined total of six (6) or more dogs and/or cats over six (6) months of age as personal or family pets, or for recreational use, or for exhibition, breeding, and where sale of offspring is not the primary function shall be required to have a private/hobby kennel permit,” as stated in the Animal Ordinance for the city of Columbus, Georgia.

So, all in all, if you have a combined total of six or more dogs or cats, you need a permit in Columbus.

Also, similar to Macon, Columbus ordinances also require pet owners to abide by sterilization and vaccination rules.

Do you have more questions? Let me know in the comments or email me at cmadden@mcclatchy.com

Chelsea Madden

The Telegraph

Chelsea is a service journalism reporter who began working for McClatchy in 2022. She was born and raised in Middle Georgia and lives in Forsyth. She attended Wesleyan College for undergrad and a few years after that, went to SCAD for an MFA in writing. Outside of work, Chelsea likes to watch Netflix, read books in the thriller genre and chase her toddler around.