Common Mistakes That Make Finding a Lost Pet More Difficult
A few small habits, from reporting quickly to keeping your chip record current, make the difference between a short search and a long one.
Your pet is missing and you’re doing everything you can think of, but a few common habits slow the search down. The ones that cost most time are the ones that break the chain between your pet being scanned and you getting the call. Here’s where to put the work first.
Waiting to see if they come home before you report them
It’s tempting to give it a day, possibly more with a cat, but the reporting steps cost you nothing and can run while you search. Tell your microchip database as soon as possible — it stops anyone else changing the chip details and lets you check your contact details are current.
For dogs, start with your council’s dog warden, who has a legal duty for stray dogs in England, Wales and Scotland. Contact the councils that border yours too, since dogs can travel quite a long way. In England and Wales, GOV.UK has a postcode lookup that takes you straight to the right council service. Our guide to what to do in the first hour walks through the search itself.
For a cat, there’s no equivalent duty on councils, so ring local vets and rescue centres instead.
Telling the wrong people, or not enough of them
A good place to start is a local WhatsApp group, and a well-lit photo on Facebook or other social media. The more people you tell, the more can help, so don’t hold back on spreading the word.
If you think your dog was stolen rather than lost, check first that they haven’t escaped or been taken out by someone else, then report a suspected theft to the police online. Our dog theft guide covers that route in full.
Missing the call when it comes
If a vet, warden or rescue scans your pet and logs on to access your contact details, Pet Database notifies you. That notification only helps if it reaches you, so keep your phone charged, on loud where you can, and answer numbers you don’t recognise while your pet is missing.
Not knowing which database holds the chip
UK microchip companies hold separate private databases. The chip itself is a permanent implant the size of a grain of rice that holds only a number, and it isn’t linked to GPS, so it can’t track your pet. Your name, phone and address live on the database linked to that number, so it’s the record that goes out of date, not the chip.
Our chip checker shows whether a chip is registered and which database holds the record. A few seconds with the chip number tells you which company to call. If you don’t have the chip number to hand, a vet, dog warden or rescue centre can scan your pet and read it out for you.
An old number on the chip record
Our September 2026 survey found owners last checked their pet’s microchip details an average of 15 weeks ago. Almost a third never check them, and one in five don’t know keeping them up to date is their job. Our page on microchipping for lost pet recovery looks at why.
If your pet isn’t chipped at all, get it done once they’re home. In England, Wales and Scotland, a dog older than 8 weeks must be microchipped; in England, a cat older than 20 weeks must be too. In England, Wales and Scotland, a dog in a public place must still wear a collar and tag showing your name and address. Our dog microchipping page explains how to book it.
A record in your current name and at your current number is what every one of these steps relies on. A few minutes with it today saves hours of chasing if your pet ever strays.
If your pet is missing right now, the next step is to report them missing with Pet Database. A quick report and current details on the record turn a long search into a short one.
