Leave your pet sitter a short written routine, clearly labeled supplies, contact numbers and an agreed plan for access and updates. The aim is simple: your sitter should be able to find the next instruction while standing in your kitchen.
Start with the checklist below. Then add the details that make those instructions useful for your particular pet and home.
What to leave for a pet sitter: the checklist
- Care dates and visit times: when care starts, each agreed visit and when you expect to return.
- Your contact plan: your preferred contact method, a local backup and when to contact them.
- Veterinary contacts: your regular clinic and its out-of-hours or emergency contact details.
- A routine for each pet: meals, water, walks or play, cleanup and the usual resting area.
- Food instructions and supplies: the correct food, owner-provided amounts and units, preparation notes, bowls and measuring tools.
- A supply location list: food, leash or carrier, litter or waste supplies, cleaning supplies and spare essentials.
- Relevant care and behavior notes: existing care instructions, handling preferences and situations you have agreed the sitter should avoid.
- Home and update arrangements: key pickup and return, household tasks, rooms to keep closed and the update you want after visits.
Free pet sitter instructions template (one page)
Need a quick handoff sheet? Open the free printable pet sitter instructions PDF to record contacts, care dates, food and supply locations, daily routine, health notes and the updates you want. Complete one sheet per pet and review it with your sitter. Share keys and access codes privately, outside this page. You can print or save it without entering an email address.
The RSPCA's pet-sitting guidance also recommends written care instructions, routine information, veterinary and emergency contacts, and meeting a new carer before departure. Use its pet-sitting checklist to review the care information you leave.
Write the routine in the order it happens
Put the first visit at the top, followed by the everyday sequence. Give each task a time or an agreed window. Write down what you already do; use the same units that appear on your measuring tools and written care instructions.
For example, “Food is in the kitchen” leaves the sitter with several questions. A more useful note is:
At the evening visit, use Milo's food in the labeled container on the lower pantry shelf. The marked scoop and written feeding instructions are beside it. His bowl is on the mat by the fridge.
This is a wording example, not a feeding plan. Fill in your own pet's established amounts, timing and instructions. For multiple pets, use names on containers and write separate routine entries.
Make supplies easy to find
A location list can be more useful than a long description of the house. Write the room, cupboard or shelf for each item. “Hall closet, second hook” is easier to follow than “by the door.”
Gather everyday items before the handoff, and show the sitter where replacement supplies are kept. Add any purchase or reimbursement arrangements you have agreed if something runs low. Do not leave the sitter to guess what they can buy or spend.
Keep access details separate
Agree a private way to share door codes, alarm instructions and other sensitive details. Your everyday routine sheet can say where that information is stored without displaying the codes on a kitchen counter.
Confirm key pickup and return, parking or arrival notes, and any household tasks included in the booking. If you share a completed planner, send only the pages the sitter needs.
Keep care instructions clear and current
Leave current veterinary contact details and your pet's existing written care instructions together. Review any special requirements with the sitter before you leave. Where a veterinarian has provided a care or medication plan, pass along those instructions and resolve questions with them rather than rewriting a treatment plan yourself.
A household planner records information; it does not grant medical authorization. Arrange any required permissions directly with your sitter and veterinary clinic.
Agree what an update should include
“Keep me posted” can mean different things to different people. Agree the timing, channel and contents of routine updates. For example: “Send one message after the evening visit with the tasks completed, supplies running low and any questions.” Confirm separately how to contact you or your backup when something needs prompt attention.
Do a quick find-it check before leaving
Ask your sitter to use your notes to find the next meal's supplies, the equipment for the next outing or cleanup, and the contact to use if you cannot be reached. If anything is hard to find, improve that instruction while you are together. Finish by confirming the next visit and key return plan.
Use a ready-made handoff if you want more structure
You can write these notes in a document or on paper. If you prefer pages with prompts already laid out, the Pawdriva Pet Care Organizer Bundle includes a 10-page Pet Sitter Handoff Pack for routines, meals, home notes, contacts, visit checklists and updates.
Its sitter pages are printable and fillable PDFs, with an editable HTML companion. Print only the pages you need, or fill them in with a compatible PDF reader and save a copy. The bundle also includes an 8-page travel planner and an expense tracker that requires Microsoft Excel. It is a digital download; no physical item or software license is included.