Whiskas recruits camera-wearing cats as detectives to help find missing pets

Whiskas has given outdoor cats an unusual role: helping search for other cats.

“True CATectives,” created by Ogency in Kazakhstan, equips cats with small cameras to record the animals they encounter on their regular walks. AI then checks the footage against a database of missing pets.

The idea supports a broader goal: encouraging more people to participate in @GdeKotBot, a crowdsourced cat-search platform.

A search begins with a photograph

The Telegram-based platform connects owners looking for missing pets with people who spot cats outside.

Owners submit a photograph and information about where their cat disappeared. Other users can upload sightings with a location, giving the system images to compare and potential matches to flag.

The wider initiative began in Almaty in 2025, supported by Whiskas. “True CATectives” adds another source of sightings to a system that already depends on community participation.

Local cats join the search

The team used the platform’s data to identify neighbourhoods with high numbers of missing-cat reports. It then recruited owners whose cats already spent time outdoors.

Wearing cameras and GPS trackers, the cats recorded their usual routes, including corners that people might struggle to inspect.

After their walks, AI analysed the recordings for cats that could match missing-pet photographs. Potential matches could generate an alert with location information for the owner.

The campaign also gave its feline recruits a suitably brand-related reward: food.

The detectives had another job: attracting human helpers

The agency’s account makes an important distinction. It did not expect the camera-wearing cats themselves to find large numbers of missing pets.

Their role was also to generate interesting footage and a story that would bring more people into the search.

That gives the activation two connected functions. The cameras supply additional material, while the unexpected idea of cats working as detectives creates a reason to share the project.

More human participants can then contribute sightings beyond the routes covered by the feline volunteers.

AI supports a community effort

The platform’s usefulness depends on photographs, locations and people willing to take part. AI helps compare that material and flag possibilities for owners to investigate.

The project’s developers have also been working on recognising cats in difficult footage, including low light and moving shots.

Whiskas brings those elements together through a campaign rooted in a concern cat owners understand. The entertaining recruitment idea draws attention to a practical action: joining the platform and helping report sightings.

Credits

Brand: Whiskas / Mars. Campaign: True CATectives. Creative, coordination and PR: Ogency. Chief Creative Officer: Alexey Leybovich. Creative Group Head: Denis Bushuev. Art Direction: Roman Mirzaev. Account Director: Maria Firer. Account Manager: Diana Baktiyarova. PR support: BLVD Agency. Market: Kazakhstan. Campaign year: 2026.