Frequently asked questions

To post an ad, all you need is a valid email address. The posting form only takes a few steps: describing the animal, locating it on a map, adding a photo (recommended but optional), then your contact details. Posting is entirely free, as is sending alerts to subscribers and generating a poster.

Yes, posting an ad is entirely free. This includes publishing the ad on the site, sending an email alert to subscribers in your area, and generating a printable poster. Paid options are also available to increase your ad's visibility: promotion on our Facebook page, promotion on our Instagram account, and targeted advertising on Facebook and Instagram.

There are two ways to contact the person who posted an ad. You can leave them a message directly on the ad's page: the form is at the bottom of the ad page. If the poster has provided a phone number, you can also contact them directly that way.

When posting, you can add a photo at the dedicated step of the form. The photo is optional but strongly recommended: it greatly increases your chances of being contacted. Accepted formats are JPG, PNG, GIF, WebP and BMP, with a maximum size of 10 MB per photo. Only one photo can be added when creating the ad, but you can add more afterwards (up to 5 in total) from your user account by editing the ad.

You can add up to 5 photos to your ad. Only one photo can be added when creating the ad, but you can add more afterwards from your user account by editing the ad.

As soon as your ad is posted, a PDF poster is automatically generated. You receive it directly by email, and you can also find it at any time in your user account. The poster includes the photo, the animal's description, a QR code linking to the ad, and your phone number presented as tear-off tabs. If you'd rather not share your phone number, a version without phone details is also available: interested people will then only be able to contact you through the site.

We recommend creating a separate ad for each animal. Each cat has its own characteristics, its own photo and its own breed, and they won't necessarily be found at the same time.

To edit your ad, log in to your user account then go to your ad from your personal area. All fields can be edited (description, location, contact details, etc.).

Log in to your user account then go to your ad. From the edit page, you can add new photos (up to 5 in total), remove ones you no longer want, or change a photo's orientation.

Log in to your user account then go to your ad's edit page. You'll find an option there to change each photo's orientation. Note that photos are automatically cropped to a square format: for the best result, use a photo that is already square. If you're not happy with the cropping, you can delete the photo and add a new one, cropped beforehand on your phone or computer. There are also online tools to crop your photos.

Log in to your user account then go to your ad. You'll find a button there to delete the ad. When deleting, you'll be asked whether you found your animal (or returned it to its owner). If so, you'll be offered the option to show your ad in the "Reunited" section of the site.

When you delete your ad, you're asked whether you found your animal. If you answer yes, your ad will automatically be moved to the "Reunited" section of the site. It's a great encouragement for other users!

If you believe an ad is fraudulent or inappropriate, you can report it directly from the ad page using the report button provided for that purpose. Our team will review the report and take the necessary action.

An ad can be deleted for several reasons. The poster can delete it themselves at any time from their account. Also, if the poster doesn't post regularly on their ad's page, it is automatically deleted. This mechanism ensures that the ads shown on the site correspond to searches that are still ongoing.

An ad is considered inactive if its poster hasn't posted any message on their own ad for 12 months. After that period, the ad is automatically deleted. To be recognized as the ad's poster, you must use the same email address used when posting. So remember to post a message on your ad regularly to keep it active. If your ad is already inactive, you can reactivate it.

Yes, your ad stays online for free for as long as you like. The only condition is to remain active on your ad by posting a message regularly. Without activity on your part, the ad will be considered inactive and automatically deleted.

Log in to your user account then go to your inactive ad. You'll find an option there to reactivate it. The ad will then be visible on the site again.

No, posting the same ad more than once is not allowed and is considered spam. Duplicates make the site harder to read for other users, and the message history from the previous ad is lost. If you want to give your ad more visibility, you can use the "Sponsor the ad" feature available in your user account, which moves it back to the top of the list. Note that deleting the previous ad to post a new one will not work.

Find the details of this method in the dedicated guide: Patricia Franckhauser's method.

Identifying your cat (by tattoo or microchip) is mandatory. Without identification, a cat is considered to belong to no one. An animal welfare association, shelter or pound can then have it adopted after just 10 days. Likewise, any private individual can legally keep an unidentified cat. So make sure your cat is identified: it's a legal requirement and your best guarantee of finding it again.

After losing your cat, you might be contacted by a scammer. Read the guide "Beware of scammers!" to understand the threats and protect yourself.

To protect ad posters from unwanted calls and scams, the phone number isn't shown directly: you need to click a button to reveal it. In addition, you can only view phone numbers for 5 different ads per day. Once a number has been revealed, you can view it again with no limit. This restriction only applies to ads for lost cats, not found cats. In any case, you can always contact the poster through the ad's comments.

Please note that a microchip does not let you geolocate your cat. It only contains an identification number that lets you be identified as the owner when the animal is scanned by a vet, pound or shelter. Each country has an official body that centralizes owners' contact details: remember to keep your address and phone number up to date there. If you'd like to be able to locate your cat in real time, there are GPS collars available.

See the dedicated guide.

A user account lets you manage your ads (edit, delete, add photos), create and set up your alerts, vote on messages, and view your favorite ads. An account is automatically created the first time you post an ad.

There is no password on the site. To log in, simply enter your email address: you'll receive a verification code by email, which you just need to enter to access your account.

First check that you entered the correct email address, then check your spam/junk folder. To keep our emails from being filtered, add our address hello@lost-cat.org to your contacts. If the problem persists, contact us.

Log in to your user account: you'll find an option there to change your email address. A verification code will be sent to your new address to confirm the change.

Changing your username isn't available as a self-service option. To change your username, please contact the site team, specifying your current username and the new one you'd like.

Log in to your user account to find the list of all your ads. From there, you can edit your ads' content, add or remove photos, or delete an ad.

You can add an ad to your favorites by clicking the heart icon, available on ad lists and on each ad's detail page. You can then find all your favorite ads from your user account.

This message appears in your account when an email sent by the site to your address was rejected (known as a "bounce"). This can happen if your email address contains a typo, if your inbox is full, or if your email provider blocked our emails. Check your email address in your account and correct it if needed.

You can unsubscribe from alert emails and new-message notifications from your user account. An unsubscribe link is also included at the bottom of every email you receive.

Log in to your user account: you'll find an option there to delete your account. Deletion removes all your personal data, your ads and your alerts.

A notification is a short message the site sends you. For example, "You have received a new message on your ad."
On the site or in the mobile app, a small red badge shows you the number of notifications you've received. Click it to view them.

You get a notification when:

• a user writes a message on your ad's page
• a user writes a message in a discussion you've taken part in
• a user writes a message on one of your favorite ads
• a new ad is posted that matches your alert criteria

All notifications are instantly visible in your personal account on the site or mobile app.

In addition, if you use the mobile app, you also receive this notification immediately on your mobile phone.

And whether or not you use the mobile app, you also receive an email whenever you have notifications: once an hour, once a day or once a week. You can choose this frequency in your personal account.

If you have notifications but ignore them, the frequency will automatically be adjusted to stop sending you unnecessary emails. For example: if you have a notification about a new message on an ad and you don't visit that ad to read the message, the frequency may switch from "every hour" to "every day". More precisely, any notification ignored for more than 6 days triggers an update to the email frequency, up to a maximum of "once a week".