Court impounding a pet? (3)
I believe the answer is:
cat
'pet?' is the definition.
(cats are often kept as pets)
'court impounding a' is the wordplay.
'court' becomes 'ct' (abbreviation used in road names).
'impounding' is an insertion indicator.
'ct' placed around 'a' is 'CAT'.
(Other definitions for cat that I've seen before include "Animal; converter; boat" , "Feline - whip" , "Tabby" , "Sailor's whip with nine knotted strands" , "A tom" .)