Claiming a reference animal someone created for you

If another member made a reference profile for your animal, claim it to make it yours. A reference profile records an animal for someone's pedigree without an owner, and claiming it keeps that pedigree and those details on one profile.

Claim a reference only if the animal is really yours. Invited claims go through right away, and other claims are reviewed by our team first.

If you were invited

1. Open the link in your invitation email, text, or Creatures notification. Use this link, not the Claim this animal button on the profile, which sends your claim for review.
2. Sign in with the account the invitation was sent to, or select Create account if you are new. If you are signed in to a different account, Creatures asks you to sign out first.
3. On the invitation page, select the button with your animal's name, such as Claim Morag of Glen Lyon. The animal is yours right away.

Sometimes the link opens the claim form instead, for example when the reference has no birth date or age. Review the details and keep the current main photo or upload a new one. A main photo is required if the reference has none.

If you belong to a farm or organization, choose the owner under Claim as. Then select Submit claim (the button may include the animal's name). Opening someone else's invitation does not let you claim for them.

If you were not invited

1. On the reference's profile, find the Is this your animal? box and select Claim this animal. You can also use the claim this profile link under Added by.

2. Review the details, choose an owner under Claim as if it appears, and select Submit claim.

Your claim becomes a private draft that our team reviews. Until then, the profile shows Claim pending and View draft.

• The draft is marked Draft · Awaiting review. Select Edit draft to keep improving it while you wait.
• The original reference stays the same until the review is done.
• If the claim is approved, your draft is combined with the reference and the animal becomes yours.
• If it is not approved, Creatures lets you know and removes the draft.

If Claim pending shows, your request is already in line. Do not add the animal again to try a second time.

If you are not signed in

You can claim and create your account in one step. On the claim form, under Claim as, choose Myself (personal ownership) or My farm or organization. For a farm, add its name and type.

Then fill in Create your account: First name, Last name, Username, and Email. Below the username, Your profile link will be shows your new address. Select Create account and submit claim, then open the sign-in email Creatures sends you. This kind of claim is reviewed like any other uninvited claim.

If you created the reference

If you added a reference and later find out the animal is yours, look for the Own this animal? box on its profile. Select Claim this animal, review the details, and select Claim this animal again. Your claim is approved right away.

A profile marked as sold shows Did you buy this animal? instead. That is a separate buyer claim. See Sold your animal? How to update Creatures.

After the claim

The animal becomes a normal owned profile. You can manage its photos, records, pedigree, privacy, and team.

If the animal was released or removed by an earlier keeper, you start clean: their private records, Care and Creature Card don't come with it, and the profile doesn't carry over their biography unless you submit your own. Their records stay in place when that keeper invites you, or when you are the earlier keeper claiming it back.

If someone already owns the profile, they need to transfer it to you instead. See Transferring an animal to its new owner.

Related information

• Reference animals: documenting lineage and inviting the owner
• Adding an animal to Creatures
• Merging duplicate animal profiles

Updated on: 05/11/2026