Has your pet gone missing in France? Exact steps
Updated: September 16, 2026 · Reunika
In France, identification of dogs, cats and ferrets is compulsory and centralised by I-CAD. Found animals are dealt with by the mairie and placed in a fourrière, where they are kept for only 8 clear working days. The order is therefore clear: report the loss to I-CAD within the first hour, then contact the mairie and the fourrière, followed by the main lost-and-found networks.
No account. Starting the alert takes 30 seconds.
Steps, in order
- Search on foot during the first few hours, close to where the animal went missing: cats usually stay within 500 m, while dogs usually stay within 3 km.
- Post an online notice with a photo and the exact location. On Reunika, the notice becomes an alert on Facebook and Instagram in the area where the animal went missing and appears on the town map.
- Report the loss in the keeper's portal on i-cad.fr, or through the Filalapat app: any vet or fourrière that scans the microchip can contact you through the national database. I-CAD telephone: 09 77 40 30 77.
- Call the mairie of the commune where the animal went missing and its fourrière: only the mayor's municipal services can place an animal there, and after 8 clear working days an unclaimed animal is deemed abandoned.
- Notify local vets and shelters (SPA does not collect animals from the street, but receives them from the fourrière).
- Post on chien-perdu.org or chat-perdu.org (free, with automatic reposting on departmental Facebook pages), on Filalapat and in your department's Facebook group. Pet Alert has a free delayed option and paid alerts (25/49 EUR).
- Put up posters at junctions, shops and veterinary practices, with a large photo and the QR code for the notice. Do not stick them to poles or street furniture without the town hall's permission.
What is specific to France
- Identification is compulsory (Code rural L212-10): dogs over 4 months, cats over 7 months and ferrets must be identified, with all records held in the I-CAD database. If you are not yet registered as the keeper, email contact@i-cad.fr to request temporary registration.
- Fourrière: the holding period is 8 clear working days (Code rural L211-25). After that, the animal becomes the property of the manager, who may transfer it to a shelter for rehoming or have it euthanised. The keeper pays the fourrière and identification fees.
- Putting up posters on street furniture without authorisation is punishable (Code de l'environnement); put them in shops, veterinary practices and on approved noticeboards.
Common questions
I have found an animal in France. What should I do?
Take it to a vet to have its identification checked (microchip or tattoo, free of charge), notify the mairie of the commune where you found it within 24 hours, and report the found animal on Filalapat or to I-CAD. Keeping an identified animal without reporting it is illegal.
Is a microchip enough?
No. The I-CAD database can find you only if your details are up to date and the loss has been reported. Check your I-CAD account now.