Volunteer Cats Help Find Missing Pets with AI

Nov. 09, 2026

The Telegram bot @GdeKotBot allows some users to post information about missing pets, while others can help search for them. Anyone who spots a cat on the street can send its photo to the chatbot along with its location. AI compares these images with missing-cat reports and notifies owners that their pets have been found.

Since its launch, the digital lost-cat search system has helped reunite 407 pets with their owners, and more than 28,000 users have joined the bot.

The main challenge in searching for lost cats is their behavior in dangerous situations. Runaway cats rarely approach people and tend to hide in hard-to-reach places: in bushes, under cars and porches, in basements and attics, places that are difficult to look into… unless you’re a cat.

GdeKotBot launched a project to draw attention to the problem of runaway cats and involve more people in the search. Through social media and the chatbot, the team contacted owners of free-roaming cats living in areas with the highest number of missing-pet reports.

 

Equipped with tiny cameras and GPS trackers, the True CATectives film the cats they encounter during their daily walks. AI analyzes the footage and compares the cats spotted in it with the database of missing cats. When there is a potential match, the owner receives an alert and the cat’s location.

In 2025, GdeKotBot set a strong international trend in the use of AI to find lost pets. After the project received numerous awards at international festivals, similar services began appearing around the world, which we are very happy to see. Our mission is to set an example for the whole world, so that lost cats can be found as quickly as possible.

 

Additional Information

Project leader Alexey Leybovich said:

“A little-known statistic: one in three cats runs away from home at least once. Unlike dogs, 85% of which are reunited with their owners, fewer than half of lost cats make it back home. Finding them requires help from people across the entire city.”

 

Unlike cities such as Istanbul, Kazakhstan has relatively few stray cats. So if you spot a cat alone on the street, there is a good chance it could be someone’s lost pet.