First, is it really lost?
Not every animal outside is lost. Many cats have a home and a territory, and a well-fed, calm cat sitting on a wall is probably on its daily round. Taking it in would make it the lost one.
Signs that an animal really needs help:
- A dog on its own, especially with a collar or a lead trailing. Dogs rarely roam alone by choice.
- A cat that keeps coming back to your door hungry, cries to be let in, looks thin or dirty, or is there for days.
- An animal that is injured, confused, very young, or clearly an indoor pet out of place: a rabbit, a guinea pig, a bird.
For a cat you are not sure about, ask before you act. Knock on a few doors nearby with a photo, and if it lets you, you can fasten a paper collar with a short note (“Is this your cat? Please call…”) to its own collar. If it has an owner, an answer often comes within a day or two.
Approach it safely
A frightened animal can bite or scratch, even a gentle one, and a dog running from you can run into traffic.
- Don’t chase. Crouch down, turn sideways, avoid staring, and speak quietly. Let the animal come to you; a little food helps.
- For a dog, a lead or a belt looped through its collar is enough to keep it with you. If it won’t come, stay where you can see it and call the local animal service rather than following it into a road.
- For a cat, a carrier or a sturdy box with holes and a towel works. Hold it wrapped in the towel, firmly, by the body.
- If it is injured, handle it as little as possible, wrap it in a towel or a blanket, and take it to the nearest vet. Many practices see injured animals that are brought in, whoever brings them.
Keep the found animal away from your own pets until it has seen a vet: you don’t know what it carries.
Read the tag, have the chip scanned
The fastest way home is written on the animal or under its skin.
- A tag on the collar often carries a phone number. Call it first; many returns happen this way, often within the hour.
- A microchip is the size of a grain of rice, usually between the shoulder blades. You can’t read it yourself, but most vets and shelters can scan it, and many do so without charge. The chip’s number leads to a registry, which contacts the owner.
Having the chip read doesn’t mean giving up the animal. You can ask the vet to scan it, call the registry with you, and take it home again while the owner is reached.
Report it where the owner will look
An owner who has lost a pet calls the shelters, the vets and the registry, and asks the street. Be in all of those places.
- The shelters near you and the local animal service: report the animal as found, with a photo, the place and the day, even if you keep it with you. In many places the law asks a finder to report a found animal to the local authority, the police or a shelter within a few days; check what applies where you live.
- The vets nearby: a short message and a photo; owners call them.
- Your national pet registry, if it takes reports of found animals.
- The street: knock on the doors around the place you found it, ask in the building’s group chat and in local groups, and put up a poster where you found it: FOUND, a photo, the day, the street, and how to reach you.
In the app
On Kylala, post it as Lost & found and start the title with the word “Found” (“Found: black cat with a white chest”). It goes on the map of the streets around you; neighbors who chose to hear about lost and found get one ping (never more than two a day), and the conversation opens with ready replies such as “Is it yours?” and “Can you describe it?”. The ask’s pin sits on your own home, exactly or blurred by about 50 m, as you chose in your Profile.
While you wait
If you keep the animal for a day or two, keep it simple and calm.
- A quiet room, the door closed, with water, a towel to lie on and, for a cat, a tray with litter or soil.
- Plain food in small amounts. Cats shouldn’t be given milk. If you are unsure what a rabbit or a bird eats, ask the vet.
- Inside. A found cat let out again will often not come back to you, and its owner may be on the way.
- Don’t change it. Don’t wash, trim or rename it in posts: its owner will recognise it by the look it had when it left.
If you can’t keep it, the shelter is the right place, not the street where you found it. Tell the shelter everything you know, and leave your number for the owner if you’re happy to.
Handing it back to the right person
Most people who call are the owner, delighted. A few are not, and a pet is easy to claim if you don’t ask. Before you hand it over:
- Show a photo in your posts, but keep one detail back: a white patch, a scar, a collar’s colour. Ask the caller to describe it.
- Ask for something only an owner has: photos of the animal at home, vet records, the chip’s registration in their name.
- Watch the animal. A dog that runs to its person is a good sign; a cat that hides is not proof of anything, cats hide.
- Meet in daylight, at the door or in a public place, or with someone else present. You don’t need to give your address before you are sure.
If nobody comes forward, the local rules decide what happens next, usually through the shelter or the local authority after a holding period. Don’t give the animal away yourself before that period is over: its owner may still be searching.
Looking for your own pet?
The first 48 hours of a search, hour by hour: A lost pet: what to do in the first 48 hours
Questions this guide answers
What should I do first when I find a lost dog or cat?
Check whether it is really lost (a calm, well-fed cat on its usual round isn’t), approach it calmly without chasing, and look for a tag with a phone number. Then have its microchip scanned at a vet or a shelter and report it as found to the shelters and vets nearby.
Where can I get a found pet’s microchip scanned?
At most vets and shelters, and many scan a found animal without charge. The chip’s number leads to a registry that contacts the owner. You can keep the animal with you while they do.
Can I keep a pet I found?
Not straight away. In many places a finder must report a found animal to the local authority, the police or a shelter, and the owner keeps their rights for a holding period. If nobody claims it, the local rules decide what happens next; ask the shelter.
How do I make sure the person who claims it is the real owner?
Keep one identifying detail out of your posts and ask them to describe it, ask for photos of the animal at home or vet records, and meet in daylight, at the door or in a public place. Never hand it over to someone who can’t tell you anything about it.
Tell the street who’s at your door
Kylala (a free, private neighborhood app) puts what you found on the map of the streets around you: a photo, a few words, and the neighbors who chose to keep an eye out hear about it. The owner can write to you from it, nobody needs your phone number, and its link fits any group chat. It works in any browser. Try Kylala, it’s free.
Step onto the streetMore field guides: a lost pet’s first 48 hours, someone else’s parcel at your door, or meeting your neighbors.