Frequently asked questions

Yes. The app is free, with no ads, and the alert when a cat goes missing is free too.

Android and iPhone. In the stores, search for "Minou chats de ruelle": "Minou" alone often shows other apps first.

In Canada and France, in English and French. In Quebec, zones follow the boroughs of the big cities and the municipalities, down to the villages.

No. Locations are rounded to about a hundred metres and published 45 minutes later, so no one can follow a cat or the person photographing them. They are only exact for a cat reported missing by their owner, and only for sightings after the alert starts, except for a cat added by their owner from home: their whole history then becomes exact during the alert (details in the privacy policy). The area you declare is visible to no other member.

Yes. You see your photo right away on your map and in your Dex. Your neighbours see it 45 minutes later: the delay protects the cat and the person who took the photo.

Most often, because the phone didn't recognise the cat (dark photo, far away, cat half hidden). The photo then waits to be checked, by neighbours in the Sort tab or by a moderator, before it joins the map.

Yes. Tap "I've lost my cat" or "Add my cat", then pick a photo from your gallery. That's what it's for: a missing cat isn't there to be photographed. What to do, hour by hour

No: for a cat you meet outside, the photo is taken in the app, on the spot. The gallery is for your own cat, with "Add my cat".

No, Minou is made for cats only.

No. Minou publishes no sale or adoption listings.

Neighbours near you who turned on alerts can be notified, with a message that gives neither your cat's name, nor your address, nor your number. It's not the whole neighbourhood: only the people who have Minou and its alerts.

No, a cat has one owner. Two owners means two people who can start an alert or remove the card, and no one to decide the day they disagree. The other person can photograph the cat and have them in their Dex.

Tap the photo to enlarge it: "Take my photo down" is there. The person who created a card also sees "Delete my card", as long as nobody else has added a photo to it, and not during an alert.

Zones are municipalities, and boroughs in the big cities, never smaller: wide enough to point to no one. Pick your city, and check the distance shown next to the name, since some French towns share a name with a Quebec city.

Most of the time, on the phone, without sending anything. A cat at night, far away or half hidden may not be recognised: "It really is a cat" lets the photo through, and neighbours confirm it in Sort.

Your profile, username, messages and alerts are deleted. Your cat photos stay, without your username, because they tell the story of cats who belong to the street; write to us if you want them removed. Each photo's technical address still contains the account's identifier. The details are in the privacy policy.

In the app: Profile, then "Settings" if that line is there, then "Delete my account", at the very bottom. It's immediate. Without the app, write to us from your account's email address.