Where to report a lost pet in France: all options compared
Updated: September 16, 2026 · Reunika
The short answer: report the loss to I-CAD (Filalapat) and post an alert with local reach on Reunika within the first hour, then use chien-perdu.org or chat-perdu.org and your department’s Facebook group, while also calling the mairie and fourrière. Below, each option is assessed honestly.
No account. Starting the alert takes 30 seconds.
The options, one by one
- Reunika (reunika.com): a free post in one minute, live map and A4 poster with QR code; optional paid alert on Facebook and Instagram around the place where the pet went missing. The fastest way to reach a local area.
- Filalapat (filalapat.fr), the official I-CAD service: free app and website, directly linked to the national database; a found-animal report with the microchip number automatically alerts the owner. An essential starting point, but with no neighbourhood alert.
- chien-perdu.org and chat-perdu.org: free services, running since 2008, with automatic reposting to department-based Facebook pages; hundreds of thousands of animals claimed to have been reunited with their owners. High volume, dated design.
- Pet Alert France (petalert.fr): a network with one Facebook page per department; free adverts published within 24 h, paid alerts at 25/49 EUR.
- Leboncoin, the Animaux perdus category: France’s largest audience, but your post gets lost among thousands of others and there is no local alert.
- Facebook groups by department: very active, but posts disappear within hours, with no map or search function. Add a link to your advert in every post.
- Mairie and fourrière: not websites, but essential official contacts; once an animal is in the fourrière, the legal holding period is only 8 clear working days.
The combination that works
- Report the loss to I-CAD / Filalapat and post on Reunika with a photo and the exact location.
- Call the mairie and fourrière; follow up daily during the 8 clear working day holding period.
- Post on chien-perdu.org or chat-perdu.org and share the link in your department’s Facebook group.
- Put up posters in the area from the second day onwards, in permitted locations.
Common questions
Why not just use Facebook?
Because a post disappears from the feed within a few hours and cannot be found by someone searching a week later. A post with its own page stays on the map and collects sightings; use groups as an amplifier, with a link.