I found an animal: what to do.

First: is it really lost?

A cat without a collar is not necessarily homeless: many go out alone all day. If it looks healthy, watch it for a few days before taking it in. You can put a paper collar on it asking “Who do I belong to?” with your number.

A dog on its own, with no owner in sight, needs help sooner: have its chip read without waiting.

The steps

1. 1

   Have the chip read

   Vets, shelters and often the police read microchips, usually free of charge. For dogs the chip is compulsory and leads to the keeper in the AMICUS database. For cats it is optional, but many have one, registered with ANIS. If the animal can be returned straight away, there is nothing else to do.

2. 2

   Tell the owner or the authority

   It is a legal duty: whoever finds a lost animal must inform the owner or, failing that, the competent authority (article 720a of the Swiss Civil Code). Each canton designates this authority, see below. According to STMZ, a found report posted on stmz.ch is passed on to your canton’s authority and counts as the report.

3. 3

   Post a “found” alert

   On Animalerte it is free and needs no account. The form asks where the animal is now: with you, where you found it, at a vet or at a shelter. Your contact details are not published without your consent: the owner writes to you through the site. If the chip was read, add its number. This alert helps find the owner, but does not replace the report to the authority. Once checked by the team, your alert is also published on our Facebook and Instagram pages, unless you opt out.

4. 4

   Look after it, or take it to a shelter

   The law requires a found animal to be kept with the necessary care (article 721). If you cannot keep it, a shelter can take it in.

Who to tell, canton by canton

• Valais: the municipality where the animal was found is responsible for it. Contact the municipal administration or police, or post a report on stmz.ch. vs.ch
• Vaud: the register of found animals is kept by the SVPA. You can take the animal to one of the three shelters (SVPA, SPA La Côte, SPA Haut-Léman), or report it to the police. vd.ch
• Geneva: dogs go to the cantonal pound, unidentified cats to SOS-Chats; pet rabbits, rodents, cage birds and ferrets go to SPA Genève; for other species the cantonal veterinary service will advise you. ge.ch
• Fribourg: found report on stmz.ch or on 0848 357 358. fr.ch
• Neuchâtel: the cantonal veterinary service, or a report on stmz.ch. ne.ch
• Jura: the cantonal veterinary service refers you to the Association jurassienne de protection des animaux (AJPA). jura.ch
• Bern: since July 2025 STMZ runs the cantonal office for found animals. police.be.ch
• Zurich: reporting to the veterinary office’s found animal desk is compulsory, online through STMZ or by email. zh.ch

For other cantons, the STMZ list gives the office of each canton. It is not always up to date: if in doubt, call your municipality.

How long, and who pays?

• If the owner cannot be found for two months, the animal can become yours, provided you reported it and looked after it with care in the meantime (articles 721 and 722 of the Civil Code). A shelter you handed it over to for good may decide its future after two months.
• If the owner comes forward, they refund your expenses and owe you a fair reward.
• Caring for a found animal is first the finder’s responsibility; the Swiss Veterinary Society considers that the costs then fall to the owner.