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In France, losing a pet is not an exceptional event. It's a daily, widespread reality, largely underestimated by the general public. Behind the official figures lies a difficult truth: tens of thousands of families search for their pet every year, often without effective tools to help them. And some of these animals never make it home.
This article provides a comprehensive and data-driven overview of the situation of lost animals in France, identifies the shortcomings of the current system, and presents how solutions like Hesteka can concretely change the situation.
The true extent of the problem: official figures
What I-CAD data says
In France, the main source of data on lost animals is the I-CAD National File (Identification des Carnivores Domestiques), the official body responsible for managing the national identification register for dogs, cats, and ferrets. Its annual barometers are the reference in this area, even if — and this is a crucial point — they only count animals identified by microchip or tattoo that have been officially declared. The reality is therefore necessarily higher than the published figures.
In 2023, 82,864 animals were declared lost in the I-CAD National File. Over the last five years, 442,480 animals have been declared lost, with a 70% increase in cat registrations.
To put these figures into perspective:
- In 2023, cats accounted for more than 75% of animals declared lost in France, meaning one cat was lost every 8 minutes. One dog was lost every 26 minutes.
- Between June and August 2024 alone, I-CAD recorded more than 27,000 lost animal declarations, including 5,357 dogs and 21,718 cats across the entire national territory.
- Thanks to identification, 29,105 cats and 13,218 dogs were reunited with their owners throughout 2024.
The summer trend is particularly worrying. I-CAD's summer 2025 report reveals a 5.67% increase in losses compared to the same period in 2024, with cats being the most affected species. Over summer 2025, 4,047 dogs and cats were reported found, and 47,904 animals found new homes through shelters.
Sources: I-CAD Barometer 2024 (i-cad.fr) — I-CAD Summer Report 2024 and 2025
The iceberg: underestimated figures
I-CAD data represents only a fraction of the real problem, for several reasons:
Only identified animals are counted. One out of two cats is still not identified compared to the ever-growing feline population. This means that a significant proportion of losses are simply not recorded.
Not all species are included. The I-CAD file primarily concerns dogs, cats, and ferrets. Rabbits, guinea pigs, birds, and other New Pet Species (NACs), increasingly present in French households, are not included.
Abandonments are added to involuntary losses. According to the Solidarité-Peuple-Animal association, based on I-CAD figures, in 2022, 239,725 cats, 49,276 dogs, and 41,854 stray cats were identified by an association, shelter, or pound — without these figures taking into account NACs or animals abandoned directly to facilities.
In France, an estimated 100,000 abandonments occur each year, with 60,000 during the summer period.
What we know for sure is that the situation is not improving spontaneously. Declarations increase year after year, and while part of this increase can be explained by better use of the I-CAD file, it also reflects a worrying reality on the ground.
Who loses what, where, and when? Understanding loss profiles
Cats, the main victims of losses in France
The data is unambiguous: cats are the animals most affected by losses. In 2023, cats accounted for more than 75% of animals declared lost in France. Several factors explain this phenomenon:
- The freedom of outdoor access inherent to cats exposes them more to wandering.
- The insufficient identification rate : unlike dogs, whose identification is more ingrained in habits, a still high number of cats are not microchipped.
- Stray or free-roaming cats, whose intermediate status makes traceability complex.
For dogs, while absolute numbers are lower, certain breeds are overrepresented in declarations. In 2018, the frequency of losses reached one dog lost every 19.5 minutes, compared to 21 minutes in 2017, illustrating a continuous upward trend over several years.
The geography of losses: more exposed regions
The regions most affected by loss declarations are also the most populated: Île-de-France with 12,188 declarations in 2023, followed by Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes with 9,511.
At the departmental level, Gironde (33), Bouches-du-Rhône (13), and Nord (59) concentrate the most lost animal declarations, with 2,472, 2,243, and 2,181 registrations respectively in 2020.
Population density clearly plays a role, as does the presence of peri-urban natural areas where animals can flee and get lost.
Summer, a dark season for pets
It is a documented and recurring phenomenon: one third of losses occur in July, August, and September. Summer travel, July 14th fireworks, changes in routine, and vacations in unfamiliar places are all risk factors.
August in particular sees the peak of declarations with 10,145 dogs and cats declared lost, for only 1,328 dogs and cats declared found during the same period.
This imbalance between lost and found animals is at the heart of the problem: the reports exist, but they do not reach the right people at the right time.
The limits of the current system: why so many animals don't return home
A fragmented reporting ecosystem
Today, when an owner loses their pet or a passerby finds a stray, the steps are numerous, scattered, and poorly coordinated:
- Declaration on the I-CAD file (only for identified animals)
- Posting on local Facebook groups
- Posting notices in the neighborhood
- Calling pounds, shelters, town halls, gendarmerie
- Posting on specialized websites
Each channel operates in isolation. Someone who finds a stray cat in Marseille does not necessarily consult the same platforms as the desperate owner who is looking for it. The information exists, but it does not circulate.
The legal deadline: a race against time
The owner of an animal has 8 clear days to retrieve their animal from the pound, at the risk of the animal entering an adoption process. This very short deadline requires immediate responsiveness that the current system does not always allow.
Faced with this urgency, the reunion rate among animals declared lost during the summer period does not exceed 48.7%, a rate that struggles to progress despite awareness campaigns.
Identification: necessary but insufficient
Identification by microchip or tattoo has been mandatory since 2012 for dogs and since 2021 for cats. It is the most effective way to find your pet. But it doesn't solve everything:
- It assumes that the person who finds the animal will go to a veterinarian or pound to read the chip.
- It requires that the owner's contact information be up-to-date in the I-CAD file.
- It does not cover NACs or unidentified animals.
- It does not create real-time geolocated alerts to mobilize the local community.
In other words, identification is a traceability tool — not a community mobilization tool. And that is precisely the void that Hesteka seeks to fill.
Hesteka: the concrete solution to a documented problem
From observation to action
The figures are there. The problem is real, documented, and growing. Existing tools are insufficient or too fragmented to respond effectively. It is from this precise observation that Hesteka was born: a free, geolocated mobile application designed to centralize all reports of lost, found, rescued, or injured animals in France in one place.
The idea is simple: ensure that the right information reaches the right person, at the right time, in the right place.
How Hesteka addresses the identified shortcomings
1. Centralization of reports Where today you would have to post on a dozen different platforms, Hesteka offers a single entry point. One report, one photo, one geolocation — and the information is immediately accessible to the entire local community.
2. Real-time geolocated alerts When an animal is reported in a given area, nearby users receive a real-time notification. No more delay between loss and information dissemination. Every minute counts — and Hesteka knows it.
3. Community mobilization through local missions Hesteka goes beyond simple reporting. Local missions allow users to get concretely involved alongside partner associations: organizing collections, carpooling for adoptions, supporting shelters. Each action is rewarded with points redeemable in the solidarity store.
4. Rewarding every action Reporting an animal, participating in a mission, making a donation, dropping off products at a collection point — all of this generates Hesteka points redeemable for products and benefits from our committed partners. Because acting for animals deserves recognition.
5. A partnership ecosystem Hesteka relies on a network of associations, shelters, and local partners directly referenced in the application. Collection points, available missions, associations to support—everything is accessible in a few seconds.
Free. For everyone. Everywhere in France.
Hesteka is a 100% free application, accessible to everyone—pet owners, volunteers, ordinary citizens who want to help. You don't need to own a pet to participate. You don't need to be a member of an association. You just need to be there, at the right place, at the right time.
Faced with ever-increasing figures—82,864 animals reported lost in 2023, a 70% increase in cat losses in five years, a cat lost every 8 minutes—it was urgent to provide a response commensurate with the challenge.
Hesteka is that response.
