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Found or Lost an Animal?

Please follow the below recommendations if you have either lost, or found a pet.

If you have lost your pet:

  • Please file a Lost or Found report found HERE with Pet FBI. Pet FBI is a centralized database for lost and found pets. It creates the free flyers and social media links that organizations sch as Lost Dogs of Illinois, Lost Dogs of Wisconsin, etc. use. These lost pet sites nor Pet FBI charge for their services. Shortly after you submit your report with Pet  FBI, you will receive an email with a flyer for your lost pet. Facebook postings with subsequent Lost Pet organizations are not automatic and will be done as soon as one of their volunteers are able to post them.
  • Notify the microchip company that your pet may be registered to (if chipped) and make sure your contact information is up to date.
  • Post flyers and encourage people to report sightings, but not to chase your pet as this can cause your pet to run farther and farther from home.
  • Post in other local lost pet Facebook groups or pages such as Lost Pets of Lake County Illinois, Lost Cats of Illinois, etc.
  • File a lost pet report with your local police department, animal control, and any other local animal shelters.

If you have found a pet:

  • Please file a Lost or Found report found HERE with Pet FBI. Pet FBI is a centralized database for lost and found pets. It creates the free flyers and social media links that organizations sch as Lost Dogs of Illinois, Lost Dogs of Wisconsin, etc. use. These lost pet sites nor Pet FBI charge for their services. Shortly after you submit your report with Pet  FBI, you will receive an email with a flyer for your lost pet. Facebook postings with subsequent Lost Pet organizations are not automatic and will be done as soon as one of their volunteers are able to post them.
  • Contact your local police department, animal control, and other local animal shelters in case a lost pet report was filed.

If you FIND a cat and/or kittens outside:

  • For EMERGENCY situations after hours, contact an emergency veterinarian, your local police department, or animal control.
  • If you have found kittens outdoors, please follow the guidelines in the linked video and contact Save-A-Pet’s Intake Department when the time/situation is appropriate.
  • If you have found an adult cat outdoors, please follow these guidelines below:
    • Get a picture of the cat if possible for local flyers, found cat social media posts, and Pet FBI.
    • Without disturbing the cat, hurting yourself, or putting yourself at risk, look to see if the pet appears healthy and un-injured.
    • If the cat appears in good health, is not underweight, and is not suffering from injury:
      • Leave the cat where it is. Only 2% of owned cats are returned to their owners when brought into a shelter whereas most cats can make it back to their home on their own with a much better chance. Also, the resources at a shelter for a cat that is thriving outdoors, could take away from resources that could be used for a friendly indoor-only cat that is facing euthanasia at a local animal control or open admission shelter. Save-A-Pet looks to focus our resources to those cats that have no other options.
      • Please click here for more information on what to do if you find a free-roaming friendly cat.
      • Look to see if the cat has the tip of its ears clipped such as in this image. If not, please see our resources on our Community Cats page for the best options to benefit the cat and your community.
    • If the cat appears sick, underweight, and/or is suffering from an injury:
      • Consider taking the cat to a veterinarian for care and or euthanasia if the cat is suffering and there is no way to relieve that suffering. If the cat can be rehabilitated and brought back to good health without needed management of an ongoing chronic medical condition, the next best steps is to get them microchipped, vaccinated, and spayed/neutered. From there, the cat can then be released to the location it was found if you decide not to keep the cat as your own.
      • If you are unable to take over care, please contact Save-A-Pet’s Intake Coordinator and/or your local police department or animal control. Save-A-Pet Intake Request Forms are available here, but for immediate service during our regular hours, call us at (847) 740-7788 ext 116 or 100.

For more information and resources on what to do if you have lost or found a pet, look into the following sites: