In a frame story, Branch Hawksbill, assistant director of a city zoo, is visited by a father and son who have a bear cub they found during a camping trip. The father tries to convince his son, Tim, that the bear should be donated to the zoo. Tim refuses, equating the zoo to a prison. Branch proceeds to tell Tim about another boy who faced a similar decision.

Chris Carlyle lives in the countryside, where he has befriended an adult male mountain lion named Sunshine. Because Chris has treated the cat as a pet since it was a cub, it is very docile and accustomed to eating human foods. When Chris's parents inform him that they are moving to the city, Chris worries that Sunshine will not survive alone in the wild. Unbeknownst to his parents, Chris sneaks Sunshine onto the back of the family's truck and brings him to their new home in the suburbs, where the mountain lion's presence quickly frightens the neighbors. Zoo director Dr. Del Hartwood, his assistant Isobel Moon, and head zookeeper Branch convince Chris to donate Sunshine to the city zoo.

When Chris visits the zoo, he is saddened to see that the animals are confined to cramped cages made of chain-link fencing. After having a nightmare about being locked in a cage himself, Chris resolves to free Sunshine. Seeing that Chris has a bond with the mountain lion, the zoo staff offers him a summer job as a junior zookeeper. Dr. Hartwood complains to members of the city's parks and recreation commission that the zoo is under-funded and its facilities are woefully outdated, which has resulted in injuries to some of the animals, but is advised that the politicians are unlikely to help unless pressured by public opinion.

A trio of troublemaking boys harasses the zoo animals, feeding cigars to a hippopotamus. While the staff is dealing with this, Chris steals Branch's keys and opens all of the cages, setting the animals loose to wander the city. This results in a series of comedic situations, including an ostrich swallowing a portable radio, a bear riding a bicycle through the streets, a zebra getting into a family's kitchen, an Asian elephant drinking a man's bathwater, and several primates invading a toy store. Public panic ensues, and the zoo staff scrambles to round up the animals before the police start killing them. Councilman Pew blames Dr. Hartwood for the escape and demands his resignation. After a few hours, most of the animals have either returned to the zoo on their own or have been recaptured. The police corner Chris and Sunshine in a warehouse and are ready to shoot the mountain lion, but Dr. Hartwood manages to calm the cat by feeding it whipped cream.

To protect Chris and Dr. Hartwood, Branch turns himself in and claims that he released the animals, to draw public attention to the plight of the zoo. At Branch's trial, Chris confesses, unwilling to let Branch take the blame. Dr. Hartwood passionately defends Chris's actions as being motivated by his love of animals, and for having shaken up the public's apathy toward the zoo. The judge dismisses the case and orders Chris to spend two hours each day working at the zoo for the rest of the summer.

As Branch concludes the story, he proudly shows Tim the new and improved zoo voted on by the city council. The fence cages have been replaced by modern, roomier, open-air exhibits. Chris works there, happily caring for Sunshine in the mountain lion's new home. Tim consents to give the bear cub to the zoo, believing that it will be happy there.

• Jay North is Chris Carlyle, whose best friend is an adult male mountain lion named Sunshine. Zebra in the Kitchen was North's first starring role after the cancellation of his hit television series Dennis the Menace (1959–63).^[1]
• Martin Milner is Dr. Del Hartwood, director of the zoo.
• Andy Devine is Branch Hawksbill, the head zookeeper, and later, assistant director of the zoo.
• Joyce Meadows is Isobel Moon, Dr. Hartwood's assistant.
• Jim Davis is Adam Carlyle, Chris's father.
• Dorothy Green is Anne Carlyle, Chris's mother.
• Karen Green is Wilma Carlyle, Chris's cousin.
• Vaughn Taylor is Councilman Pew, a member of the parks and recreation commission, who is critical of Dr. Hartwood and blames him for the animals' escape.
• John Milford is Sergeant Freebee, a police officer assigned to kill any of the animals that the zoo team is unable to capture.
• Tris Coffin is Councilman Lawrence, a member of the parks and recreation commission, who is supportive of Dr. Hartwood's efforts for the zoo.
• Merritt Bohn is the chief of police.
• Robert Clarke is the sheriff.
• Percy Helton is Mr. Richardson, a farmer who refuses Chris's request to take care of Sunshine when the Carlyles move to the city.
• Jimmy Stiles is Tim, a young boy with a pet bear cub he is reluctant to donate to the zoo.
• Dal Jenkins, Gordon Wescourt, and Gary Judis, as Kookie, Ribs, and Greenie, are three troublemakers who harass the zoo animals.
• Robert Lowery is Preston Heston, a big-game hunter, who volunteers to help stop the escaped animals by killing them.
• Wayne Thomas is a newscaster.
• Doodles Weaver is a nearsighted man who mistakes a dromedary for a person.
• Jon Lormer is the judge.
• Vince Barnett is a man in a manhole who is frightened by some of the escaped apes.
• Phil Arnold is a man whose bathwater is drunk by an Asian elephant.
• Eddie Quillan is a man watching television, who is interrupted by a chimpanzee. The character is watching Hollywood Party (1934), in which Quillan had a part.

Zebra in the Kitchen was produced and directed by Ivan Tors, who had become known for his work with children and animals following the success of his MGM films Flipper (1963) and Rhino! (1964), as well as the 1964 Flipper television series.^[1][2] Principal photography began in July 1964.^[3]

Trained animals were provided by Africa USA. Zebra in the Kitchen was the film debut of Bruno the Bear, which later became known for portraying the titular bear in the television series Gentle Ben (1967–69).^[4]

The shots of the "new zoo" in the closing scene were filmed at the San Diego Zoo.

Music for the film was composed by Warren Barker, and the theme song "Zebra in the Kitchen" was written by North's uncle and on-set guardian Hal Hopper and performed by the Standells.

• Zebra in the Kitchen at IMDb  
• Zebra in the Kitchen at the TCM Movie Database
• Zebra in the Kitchen at AllMovie
• Zebra in the Kitchen at the American Film Institute Catalog