Reference animals: documenting lineage and inviting the owner

When you build a pedigree, you often need an animal you do not own: a grandparent, a sire from another farm, an animal whose owner is not on Creatures yet. A reference animal is how you record that animal so it can take its place in a family tree, and you can invite its real owner to take it over. This article is the author's side, creating the reference and inviting the owner.

Creating a reference animal

In the Add-an-animal form, answer "Do you own this animal?" with "No, I am adding this for pedigree or lineage reference". You can also add one inline while you are building a pedigree (see Pedigree, family, and lineage).

• What it needs: less than an owned animal. A reference animal does not require a photo; it falls back to a species placeholder if you add none.
• What it becomes: a public profile with a reference badge, no owner, that can carry a pedigree.
• The implication: until someone claims it, the reference is a stand-in that you maintain, so keep its details accurate for the lineage you are documenting.

Inviting the owner

The point of a reference animal is often to hand it to its real owner. The "Invite the owner" block lets you reach them so they can claim it:

• Invite the owner (optional): search for them on Creatures if they are already here, send an email invite to an off-Creatures address, or, where text messaging is set up, invite by phone with their consent. An existing Creatures member gets an in-app notification; someone not on Creatures gets an invitation email (or SMS). The implication: until they claim, the profile stays a reference you maintain. For SMS invites it helps to have verified your phone number.
• Send a reminder after 14 days if not claimed (email invites): a checkbox that sends a single reminder email if the invite is still unclaimed and valid after 14 days. Invites themselves expire after 14 days. The implication: turn this on for a cold contact who might forget; it fires once, not repeatedly.
• Resend: you can resend an invite, but there is a 30-day cooldown per recipient, and an animal can have at most 2 pending invites at once. The implication: you cannot spam an invite, so make each one count.
• Shareable claim link: the reference profile also exposes a share link the owner can use to claim it directly, handy when you would rather send a link yourself than enter their contact details. The implication: it is the do-it-yourself alternative to an emailed invite.

What happens when they claim it

Be clear with yourself about the two outcomes, because they differ (the full detail is in Claiming a reference animal someone created for you):

• An owner you invited has their claim applied instantly, and the reference becomes theirs.
• Someone you did not invite, who finds the profile and claims it, goes through admin review before anything transfers.
• If you claim your own reference (a self-claim), it is instant.

One thing to expect: when an owner you invited (or an admin review) approves a claim, the animal becomes the claimer's and you are notified that you no longer maintain the profile. The implication: inviting the owner is meant to hand the animal over, so do it when you are ready for them to take it on. For the visibility rules that apply to a reference animal, see Public, private, and reference animals.

Related information

• Claiming a reference animal someone created for you
• Public, private, and reference animals
• Pedigree, family, and lineage

Updated on: 23/06/2026