Cat found: what should I do?
Right now 378 cats are reported missing and 1.962 cats have been sighted. Through the network of 31 chip readers, 1.530 microchips have already been scanned.
Do not take the cat with you straight away. By far most cats you see outdoors are not lost: they live a few streets away and are simply out and about. First check whether it wears a collar, whether it looks neglected and whether it comes back. If there is cause for concern, have the microchip number read free of charge; that is the fastest route to the owner.
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First check whether it really needs help
A cat that looks healthy, wears a collar or walks around calmly is almost certainly a house cat from the neighbourhood. Stepping in takes such a cat away from home. There is cause for concern with visible wounds, severe thinness, a cat that does not move away as you approach, or young kittens without their mother.
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Ask around in the street
Ring at a few doors or post in the neighbourhood app or local Facebook group with a photo. In most cases someone within a few houses knows whose cat it is. That takes ten minutes and spares the cat a trip to a shelter.
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Have the microchip number read free of charge
A microchip is the size of a grain of rice and sits between the shoulder blades. You cannot read it yourself, but a vet, a shelter or one of the 31 participating chip readers does it free of charge, even if you are not a customer there. Once you have the number, look it up free at ChipReaders; we also check nine Dutch and fifteen international databases.
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Report the animal, or report that you saw it
If you have the cat with you, report it as found. If you only saw it walking, use a sighting instead: the cat stays where it is and an owner can still see that their animal has been seen. Every report is automatically compared with open missing reports of the same species nearby.
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Call the council or the animal ambulance if needed
If the cat is injured or clearly neglected, call the animal ambulance for your region. If you take a found animal into your home, you are expected to report this to the council; the council is legally responsible for the care of found animals and works with a shelter for that.
Stray or house cat: how do you tell?
A house cat outdoors looks cared for, has a clean coat, often approaches people and walks off when you get too close. A genuine stray or feral cat keeps its distance, often looks lean and will not be stroked.
The hardest case is in between: a house cat that has been away for a few days is shy and dirty but does have an owner looking for it. That is why the microchip number is decisive and not what the cat looks like.
What you are better off not doing
Feeding seems kind but keeps a cat away from home, and it attracts other cats as well. Taking a cat to a shelter while it lives two streets away actually makes it harder for the owner: they search the neighbourhood, not the shelter.
And do not take a cat to a vet to sign it over; do have the microchip read. That is free and takes half a minute.
Why the microchip number works fastest
If the cat is registered with ChipReaders, we alert the owner the moment someone looks up the number. If it is held in another database, our search page points you there: we search nine Dutch and fifteen international databases at once.
Through the network of 31 participating chip readers, 1.530 microchips have now been scanned. Looking up a number is free and needs no account.
Frequently asked questions
May I keep a cat I found?
Should I pick up a cat without a collar?
What does it cost to have a microchip read?
The cat is not registered anywhere, what now?
I only see the cat walking around, what then?
How many cats are currently reported missing?
Look up the microchip number now
Free, no account, and it takes a few seconds. If the cat is registered with us, we alert the owner straight away.
Look up a microchip number