I'm a veterinarian in France, and a cat that was unfortunately killed after being hit by a car was brought to my clinic. The cat had no visible identification, but there is an AirTag attached to its collar. I don't normally use this technology—can the AirTag help me contact the owner, and what steps should I try?
2 Answers
If the AirTag is still working, its owner may receive a location update showing that it is at a veterinary clinic and could contact nearby clinics. However, the owner’s identity generally isn’t publicly available unless the tag was placed in Lost Mode. Scanning it for contact details is the most practical first step; otherwise, local authorities may be needed if formal identification is required.
Use a phone with NFC enabled and hold the white side of the AirTag against the back of the device. On an iPhone or compatible Android phone, this may open the tag’s information page. If the owner marked it as lost, they may have included a phone number or other contact instructions. The tag can also make a sound if it still has battery, which can help confirm it’s active.
I managed to make it beep and found the serial number plus the last few digits of a phone number. I’ll try going through Apple and leave my clinic’s contact information so they can hopefully pass the message along.
An assistant initially tried scanning it and got no response, so we thought the battery might be dead. It later beeped, though, and we were able to retrieve the serial number and part of a phone number.