Lost Dogs and Cats Advice

If the line is busy you will be given the opportunity to leave a message. Please speak clearly and slowly, repeating your contact telephone number.  Alternatively you can fill in our lost eform. The form will be processed and you will be emailed a lost report reference number.  

The team will ask you for details about you and your missing dog or cat.  They will need to know the following:

• Your name, address and a telephone number you can be contacted on
• The breed of dog or cat, as well as its sex, colour, age, size, and any distinguishing features
• If the animal has any form of identification, such as a collar and tag or microchip
• When and where your dog or cat went missing

The Lost Dogs & Cats Line team enters your details onto the Home's database of lost and found animals. They will then search to see if a match can be found. If they have a match they will tell you immediately and let you know if your pet is at Battersea Dogs & Cats Home or who is looking after it.

If your pet is at Battersea Dogs & Cats Home you will need to come to the Home as soon as possible. To claim your pet from us you need to bring the following:

• A form of identification that shows your address e.g. driving licence or utility bill
• Proof of ownership of your pet e.g. microchip documentation, vet bills, vaccination records

There will also be a claim fee to pay. This will vary depending on the number of days your pet has been cared for at Battersea Dogs & Cats Home. 

We accept cash, credit or debit cards and cheques with a valid bank card.  Please do not forget to bring a lead and collar if you are collecting a dog, and a cat basket if you are collecting a cat.

If the Lost Dogs & Cats Line team does not have any matches to your missing pet at the time they will save your details so they can continue to search any dogs or cats that are found in the future.

These are some of the other things you can do if you have lost your dog or cat:

• Report it to your local animal warden.  Your local authority should employ an animal warden who will collect any stray dogs wandering the streets. Please note that very few animal wardens deal with stray cats.
• Make a report to your local animal rescue centre. Most shelters keep a lost and found database of their own.
• Call your local veterinary surgery in case a member of the public has handed your dog or cat to them or has notified them of a stray they have found.
• See our Lost Cat Kit or Lost Dog Kit to help you find your missing pet.
• Download one of our free missing posters on the right hand side of this page and add details of your missing pet.  Ask local shops, vets, pubs etc to display the posters and put them up in the area where your pet went missing. You could even post copies of the poster through doors in the streets around your home.
• Come down to the Home each week to see if your dog or cat has been handed in. The Lost Dogs & Cats Line will search for your pet for 28 days using the Home's lost and found database and will notify you of any possible matches.