Pet Sitter Instructions
Feeding, routine, vet and quirks — everything a pet sitter needs.
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| Pets | [names, breed, age] |
| We are away | [when] |
| Address | [home address] |
| Vet | [vet name and number] |
Feeding
[what and when they eat]
If you need us
| Who | Number |
|---|---|
| [add one contact per line] |
If an animal is unwell, call the vet first and then call us. We would rather a wasted trip than a missed one.
What is a Pet Sitter Instructions?
Pet sitter instructions are the page that lets someone who does not know your animal keep it fed, medicated and safe for a week. It covers feeding amounts and times, medicines, the vet, the routine and the quirks — the cat that bolts when the front door opens, the dog that cannot be walked past the field with sheep. Without it a sitter improvises, and animals get ill or get out.
Anyone leaving a pet with a sitter, a neighbour, a house-sitter or a family member uses one. Professional sitters and boarding services usually have their own intake form, and this page is what you take with you to fill it in. It also matters for short absences: a hospital stay, a work trip, or an emergency where someone has to be sent to your house at a few hours' notice. Keep it printed and on the fridge rather than only in a message thread.
The rules around pet care vary more than people expect. Whether a sitter may authorise veterinary treatment and how the bill is settled is a matter for you, the sitter and the practice — many practices will not treat beyond stabilising an animal without an owner's agreement. Licensing of commercial boarding and home boarding, insurance requirements, microchipping obligations and dog control rules including leads, muzzles and restricted breeds are all set locally and differ by country, state or council. Check your own local authority's current requirements.
This page is instructions, not authority. It does not make the sitter your agent for a large veterinary bill, and it is not insurance — if you want a financial limit agreed in advance, agree it in writing with the sitter and tell your vet. It is not a substitute for a proper handover with the animal present, and it does not replace whatever contract or intake form a professional sitter uses. For anything involving a bite, an escape or a legal restriction on a breed, deal with it directly rather than by note.
What to put in a Pet Sitter Instructions
These are the details this template asks for. Anything left blank is marked in red on the preview so you can see what is still missing.
| Field | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| Pets | For example: Biscuit (labrador, 6) and Wren (cat, 11) |
| You are out | For example: Saturday 19 September, 6:00 PM to about 11:00 PM |
| Feeding | One per line |
| Exercise and routine optional | One per line |
| Things to know optional | One per line |
| Vet | For example: Kinnear Road Veterinary — (614) 555-0311 |
| Emergency contacts | One per line: Who | Number |
| Home address | For example: 588 Kinnear Road |
How to write a Pet Sitter Instructions
Write feeding as amounts and times
Brand, exact quantity, how often, and where the food is kept. ‘Two-thirds of a cup of the blue-bag kibble at 7am and 6pm, water bowl refilled morning and night’ can be followed. ‘Feed twice a day’ produces a dog four pounds heavier in a fortnight, or a cat that goes hungry. Note anything that must never be given.
Set out medicines and how to give them
Drug, dose, timing, how it is administered, and what happens if a dose is missed or refused. Show the sitter in person before you leave — a tablet hidden in cheese, an ear drop, an insulin injection — because a written description of restraining a cat is not the same as having done it once. Say whether any medicine is time-critical.
Give the vet's details and a spending limit
Practice name, address, phone number, the out-of-hours service, your client reference, and your animal's name as registered there. Ring the practice before you go and tell them who will be bringing the animal in and what you authorise. Then write down a figure the sitter may spend without reaching you, and how they contact you above it.
Name the risks specific to your animal
The door it bolts through, the food it steals, the dog it reacts to on the towpath, the harness it slips, the medicine it cannot have, the sound that sets it off. This is the part a sitter cannot work out for themselves and the part that causes incidents. Write each one as a situation and a response rather than as a general warning.
Describe the normal, so abnormal is visible
What a normal day's appetite, water intake, toileting and energy look like for this animal, and the three signs that mean ring the vet — not eating for a day, straining, laboured breathing, a distended abdomen. A sitter who has been told what normal looks like notices the change on day two rather than on day five.
Common mistakes
- Writing feeding instructions as ‘the usual amount’ leaves a sitter guessing at a quantity your animal's weight and health depend on.
- Not telling the vet in advance who is bringing the animal in can delay treatment while the practice tries to reach you for authority.
- Leaving out the escape risk — the door, the gap in the fence, the slipped collar — is how pets go missing while their owners are abroad.
- Describing how to give a tablet in writing instead of demonstrating it usually means the tablet does not get given at all.
- Failing to agree a veterinary spending limit puts the sitter in the position of making a financial decision about your animal at two in the morning.
Frequently asked questions
What should I leave for a pet sitter?
One page: feeding amounts and times, medicines with doses and method, the vet and out-of-hours contacts with your client reference, an agreed spending limit, your contact details and a local backup, the daily routine, the specific risks, and what normal looks like for this animal. Leave it on the fridge and walk through it with the sitter in person before you go.
Can a pet sitter authorise veterinary treatment?
Not automatically. Most practices will stabilise an animal in an emergency but want the owner's agreement for anything beyond that, and the bill remains yours. Ring your practice before you travel, tell them who will bring the animal in, and confirm what you authorise and up to what value. Put the same figure in writing for the sitter.
How much detail do I need about feeding?
Enough that someone who has never met your pet gets it right without ringing you: the exact product, the measured amount, the times, where it is stored, what water arrangements to keep, how many treats are permitted, and anything that must never be given. Weight changes fast in small animals, and a scoop means different things to different people.
Should I tell the sitter about behaviour problems?
Yes, in detail and without embarrassment. A sitter who knows the dog lunges at bikes, guards its bowl or cannot be let off the lead can manage it. One who finds out on the towpath cannot. Withholding a known bite risk is both unfair and, depending on where you live, potentially relevant to who is liable if something happens.
What if my pet gets ill while I am away?
Give the sitter a written route: ring the practice, take the animal in, ring you, and act up to the agreed limit if you cannot be reached. Name the out-of-hours provider separately, because it is often a different clinic at a different address. List the early signs that should trigger a call rather than waiting to see how things look the next day.
This page explains general practice and is not legal advice. Requirements differ between countries and, in some cases, between states — check what applies where the document will be used.