What to do if you see a stray dog or cat in France

If you notice a stray dog or cat there are steps you can take and organisations you can contact.

Official advice from the French government website suggests there are a few approaches to helping a stray animal find its owner or ensure that it receives the appropriate care. 

Finding the animal’s owner

If the animal does not show any signs of fear or aggression, you should slowly get close enough to check whether it is wearing a collar engraved with a telephone number. You can then make contact with the owner and organise a meeting point to have them collect their animal. 

If it does not have a collar or runs away when approached, you can begin by asking your neighbours whether they have lost a pet or whether they recognise a description of the animal. 

You can then check to see if anyone has hung missing pet posters in the streets or shops, at the local vet surgeries, with animal welfare associations, or on community social media groups. 

Posters will usually read perdu (lost) or disparu (disappeared), with an image of the animal and their owner’s contact details. 

Read also: Fines for owners of dogs found out alone in south-west France

Checking for microchips 

It is also possible to verify whether the animal has been microchipped or tattooed, and added to the French National Identification Register for Domestic Carnivores (I-Cad). 

Tattoos are usually easy to see and are most often found in the right ear. 

Vets and some animal welfare associations can scan strays to check whether they have an ID number, and if so, it will be matched to their owner’s contact details. You can also then use the ID number to tell I-Cad that the animal has been found. This report can be made online or using the Filalapat app. 

Note that French vets can only scan France’s I-Cad database, and information is not shared across European registers.

Contacting an animal shelter

You can contact the local mairie to ask for the number of a partnering animal shelter or vet who will come to collect or catch the animal and ensure it is cared for. 

A search box on the government website will help you find the appropriate contact number for the local area. 

If the animal is found at night or during a public holiday, you should be able to find an emergency phone number on your mairie’s website. 

Alternatively, you can call the local police station or gendarmerie, or personally drive the animal to a shelter. 

The shelter can check whether the animal has a microchip or ID tattoo and try to track down the owner.

If it is not claimed after a deadline of eight working days (following the day of arrival), the animal is considered abandoned and becomes the property of the shelter. 

After veterinary assessment the stray will then be transferred to an animal protection foundation where it could be put up for adoption or euthanised. 

Read also: The essential guide to owning a dog in France

Finding a stray near a motorway

If you notice an animal beside a motorway or busy road, you can use the orange emergency call boxes located at rest areas along the side of the road, or the SOS Autoroute app.

Read also: How to help wounded wildlife and strays in France