What to Leave for Your Pet Sitter: Info, Supplies and House Prep

The short checklist

Everything a pet sitter needs falls into three groups. If you have ten minutes, cover these, then fill in the details from the sections below.

If family members share the care when you're home too, the same who-does-what thinking from our shared pet care schedule makes the handover easier: the sitter takes over a routine that already exists on paper.

What information to leave for a pet sitter

Leave in writing everything you would say at the door, because the sitter can't ask you in the middle of a walk. The ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center's checklist for leaving pets with a sitter covers how to reach you, your itinerary, emergency contacts, your pet's details, vet details, medicines, the daily routine and an emergency plan.

Contacts

• You. Your cell phone and at least one other way to reach you. The American Kennel Club (AKC) suggests several forms of contact.
• A backup person nearby. The ASPCA suggests someone you trust who knows your pets and can make sound medical decisions if you're out of reach. AKC adds: ask them before you list them.
• Your vet. Name, phone number and address.
• The nearest 24-hour emergency clinic. Add the address, so the sitter knows where to drive.
• ASPCA Animal Poison Control: (888) 426-4435. It answers 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and a consultation fee may apply.

Pet profile

For each pet, write down age, weight, current health issues, medications, regular diet and microchip information. The ASPCA notes these details can be critically important if an emergency happens while you're gone. AKC also suggests leaving a list of vaccinations with the dates given; a filled-in pet vaccination record does that job. If you have more than one dog, especially of the same breed, AKC suggests ID tags on each collar so the sitter can tell them apart.

Feeding

Write the food, the exact portion and how many times a day. "1 cup at 7 a.m. and 6 p.m." leaves less room for guessing than "feed twice a day." AKC suggests labeling food containers when pets eat different diets and noting the feeding order if you have several pets; our guide to a multi-pet household covers separate feeding spots and medicine boxes. Say which treats are allowed and which foods are off-limits.

Medicines

For each medicine, list the name, the dose exactly as it's written on the vet's label, the time and how often. The ASPCA recommends going over this list with the sitter in person, and AKC suggests showing them how you give the dose. If you're not sure what the sitter should do about a missed dose, ask your vet before you leave and write the answer down. A printable pet medication log lets the sitter mark each dose with the time.

Daily routine and behavior

The ASPCA lists how much food your pet gets and when, normal walk times and, for cats, their usual hiding spots, which helps the sitter keep an eye on a nervous cat. AKC notes that keeping your dog's usual schedule can make the change easier. Add what's normal for your pet, like barking at the mail carrier or hiding from new people, so the sitter knows what not to worry about.

Your trip

Write down your dates, where you'll stay with the phone numbers there, your time zone and when you can answer. The ASPCA points out that an itinerary helps the sitter know when you may or may not be available.

Supplies to leave, and how much

Leave supplies for the whole trip where the sitter can find them and your pet can't reach them. AKC's checklist asks for "plenty of food," enough medicine for the duration of the trip, and a physical key even if you have a keypad lock, because keypad batteries can die.

How to prepare your house for a pet sitter

Make the house safe for a pet who will spend more time alone, and easy to run for a sitter who doesn't know where anything is. AKC notes that stressed pets may do things they wouldn't do with you at home.

• Move plants, trash and cleaning supplies out of your pet's reach.
• Put away dog toys that could be a choking hazard. For cats, Cats Protection suggests leaving favorite toys out and putting string-like toys, such as feather wands, out of reach.
• Check that the backyard is secure.
• Test the doors and locks with the sitter, and leave a backup key with someone you know.
• Write down alarm codes, where to turn off the water, where the circuit breakers are, your landlord's name and number, and anyone else who may come into the house.
• Tell a neighbor or your landlord that a sitter is coming, and give them the sitter's number.
• If your cat is sensitive to change, spread cleaning and packing over a few days instead of doing it all at once.

Emergency plan and vet authorization

An emergency plan answers three questions before anything happens: who decides, who pays, and what the sitter does first. The ASPCA suggests mapping out the plan and telling the sitter exactly what you'd like them to do.

1. Call your vet clinic. Tell them when you'll be away and who is authorized to make decisions about your pet, as the ASPCA recommends.
2. Ask about their form. Ask your vet clinic whether they use their own authorization form and how payment works when you're not there.
3. Decide on a spending limit. AKC notes that many pet sitters ask owners to fill out a form describing the care your pet can receive if you can't be reached, including a spending cap. If yours doesn't, consider writing one.
4. Name who drives. If the sitter has no car, ask your backup contact whether they can take your pet to the clinic.

As one example of what such a form covers, Cornell University's College of Veterinary Medicine has published a Pet Caretaker Treatment Authorization. It lists the dates the authorization is valid, how to reach you and the caretaker's details. You choose whether the caretaker can make all medical decisions or the hospital should contact you first, with a backup person if you can't be reached. You also choose between "any amount necessary" and a maximum dollar amount, and name who pays at the time of service.

Dog vs cat: what's different

Most of the list is the same for dogs and cats. The differences are in visits, toilet routine and where things can go wrong.

If your cat has a health condition, ask your sitter and your vet clinic how many visits a day it needs.

Leaving your dog with a sitter for the first time

Meet first, then hand over. Humane World for Animals advises that you and your pets meet a candidate before you book, so you can see how they interact with your animal, and suggests a trial walk to see how they handle your dog. Cats Protection gives similar advice for cat sitters: meet at your home as early as you can, or at least a few days before you leave.

At that meeting:

• Go over medicines in person and show how you give them.
• Ask whether they're comfortable giving medication and what their backup plan is if something stops them from coming.
• Pose a scenario, as Humane World for Animals suggests: what would they do if the air conditioning broke on a hot day or your pet started vomiting?
• Agree on updates. Humane World for Animals suggests asking for notes about each visit or photos by text or email.

Share care in real time with Pettify

A printed sheet covers the plan, but it can't tell you whether dinner happened. Pettify, our app for iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Vision Pro, can. You invite someone by email or QR code and choose whether they can edit or only view. Everyone sees the same diary and care plan and gets a notification when someone else logs care. Once a task is ticked off on one phone, its reminder stays quiet on the others, so the dog gets fed once, not twice.

Before you go, you can also export a PDF report from your pet's profile with vaccinations, vet visits, health records and the care plan, and leave it with the sitter's papers. Pettify costs $4.99 a month, or $49.99 a year with a 7-day free trial first (US App Store prices).

Your countdown: a week out, the day before, departure day

Spread the prep over a week, so the last day is only about the handover.