A useful cat-sitter handover tells the carer what to do, where everything is and when to call for help. Do not leave the important details across old messages. Put them in one dated document and walk through it before you travel.
Start with the non-negotiable daily routine
Cats Protection advises researching and choosing a sitter you can rely on. Once selected, give them a practical routine rather than vague instructions such as “feed as usual”.
- Each cat’s name, identifying features and normal hiding places
- Exact foods, portions and meal times
- Water locations and cleaning routine
- Litter-tray locations, cleaning steps and waste arrangements
- Medication instructions supplied by the veterinary team
- Safe play options and items not to leave out unsupervised
Label foods clearly in a multi-cat household. If two cats have different diets, explain how the sitter will confirm who ate what.
Add an emergency page
Include your regular vet, the appropriate out-of-hours service, insurance details if relevant, carrier location and a person authorised to make decisions if you cannot be reached. Agree how costs and transport would be handled; do not make a sitter improvise during an urgent situation.
Ask for a message confirming that every cat has been physically seen at each agreed check. A used litter tray or an emptier bowl does not prove that a particular cat is well.
Walk through household security
Demonstrate locks, alarms and any cat flap. List windows that must stay closed and doors that should never be opened together. Leave spare keys through an agreed secure arrangement, not in an obvious outdoor hiding place.
Keep familiar resting places recognisable
Show the sitter which furniture your cat normally uses. Do not rearrange the whole room immediately before leaving. If the pictured Velvet Nest is already familiar, tell the sitter where its washable cover and care label are; do not ask them to guess a wash setting.
For the timing decision before appointing a sitter, read how long a cat can be left alone. The two plans belong together: one defines the gap between visits, and the other defines what happens during each visit.
Do a short practice handover
Let the sitter find the food, litter supplies, stopcock or fuse information they may need, carrier and contact sheet while you are still there. Correcting an unclear instruction now is much easier than doing so from another time zone.
Guidance checked 12 September 2026.
