In the meme-rich Episode 4 of The Mandalorian, a cranky Loth-cat menaces Baby Yoda while the protagonists are trying to blend in with the locals on the planet of Sorgan. This alarming little confrontation raises some legal questions about bringing a pet along when visiting the friendly neighborhood public house.
Animals in a food facility
First off, the Loth-cat’s presence in the public house’s dining area is of concern. Generally, state and local regulations of food safety forbid animals in restaurants. See, e.g., Cal. Health & Safety Code § 114259.5(a); N.Y.C., N.Y., Health Code § 81.25.
Despite this general rule, a number of states, including Florida, New York, Illinois, and California, have in recent years passed statutes that allow restaurants to serve patrons with dogs in outdoor seating areas. But the restaurant seating in The Mandalorian seems like it’s inside a structure, albeit a relatively open-air one. In any event, those laws are dog-specific, so an intergalactic cat could not benefit from these al fresco exceptions.
Notably, the Americans with Disabilities Act requires public accommodations like restaurants to allow patrons with disabilities to dine with their qualified service animal. 42 U.S.C. § 12182(b)(2)(A)(ii); 28 C.F.R. § 36.302(c). However, the ADA regulations define a service animal as a dog (or a miniature horse) and exclude all other creatures, including those of a feline variety. 28 C.F.R. § 36.104 (definition of “Service Animal”). An ill-tempered Loth-cat certainly would not qualify as a trained service animal that is entitled by the ADA to be in a restaurant. 
Leash requirements for animals in public
But even assuming that the Loth-cat’s presence in a restaurant was not unlawful, the Loth-cat is apparently unrestrained and untethered. Is the owner of this grouchy Loth-cat required to keep it on a leash?
As an initial observation, leash laws tend to focus only on dogs. Two states, Michigan and Pennsylvania, require that owners maintain control of dogs while outside the home. Mich. Comp. Laws Ann. § 287.262 (making it unlawful for owner to allow a dog “to stray unless held properly in leash”); 3 Pa. Stat. Ann. § 459-305 (requiring that dogs be “under the reasonable control of some person”). Beyond that, states broadly regulate dogs that roam “at large” and allow the authorities to capture stray canines. Otherwise, dog leash laws are creatures of local regulation. See, e.g., N.Y.C., N.Y., Health Code § 161.05(a); Chi., Ill., Municipal Code § 7-12-030.
Also, many states and cities impose leashing, muzzling, and other requirements on dogs that have been adjudicated as dangerous or vicious. While the Loth-cat certainly snapped and growled at the Child, it’s not clear that the Loth-cat qualifies as a dangerous animal, and again: not a dog.
When it comes to our feline friends, some municipalities require cats to be on leashes when outside the home. See, e.g., Dallas, Tex., Code of Ordinances § 7-3.1(a)(4); Englewood, Colo., Municipal Code § 7-1A-3; St. Louis, Mo., Ordinances § 10.04.225; S.F., Cal., Park Code § 5.03 (requiring cats to be leashed or crated only while in San Francisco city parks). But given the difficulty of catching unleashed cats, cat leash laws can be controversial and their efficacy questionable. And given that The Mandalorian takes place in the lawless times after the Empire has collapsed, it seems unlikely that the rural world of Sorgan regards cat leashing as a legislative priority.
Of course, even if there were no leash requirements for Loth-cats on Sorgan, the owner would have been liable for negligence if—God forbid—the Loth-cat had injured Baby Yoda. Thankfully, Baby Yoda seemed unscathed, but Loth-cats turn up all over the galaxy far, far away with nary a leash, crate, or registration tag in sight. After Baby Yoda’s brush with the surly Loth-cat in Episode 4, perhaps he will use his celebrity platform to persuade his local representatives to finally enact some much-needed Loth-cat regulations.
