← All guides
What to leave for your pet sitter: a complete handoff checklist
6 min read
A good handoff means your sitter never has to guess. Use this checklist before every trip.
Contacts first
Put these at the top of whatever you leave behind, so they can be found in seconds:
•
Your phone number and a backup person nearby who can make decisions if you cannot be reached.
•
Your regular veterinarian's name, phone, and address.
•
The nearest 24-hour emergency animal hospital, with its address.
•
The ASPCA Animal Poison Control number, (888) 426-4435 (a consultation fee may apply), or your local equivalent.
•
A note saying how much you authorize the sitter to spend on emergency care, and how you will pay.
Daily routine, animal by animal
For each animal, list feeding (food, amount, times), medications (see our medication guide), walks or turnout (when, how long, where), litter or stall cleaning, and bedtime. Clock times are better than "in the morning".
The things only you know
Sitters struggle most with the unwritten rules. Write them down:
•
Escape risks: the dog that bolts through open doors, the cat that hides in the dryer.
•
Animals that must be kept apart, or fed in separate rooms.
•
Leash habits, reactivity to other dogs, or places to avoid on walks.
•
Normal behavior, so they can recognize abnormal: "Biscuit always skips breakfast" versus "Maple never misses a meal".
•
Where the leash, carrier, cleaning supplies, spare food, and first aid kit are kept.
•
House details: alarm code, how the gate latches, which doors stick, Wi-Fi.
Records and documents
Leave a copy of vaccination records and any recent medical notes, and make sure each animal's ID tag and microchip registration are up to date with your current phone number. If an animal is microchipped, note the chip number and the registry.
Agree how you will stay in touch
Decide how often the sitter will check in and how, whether a daily photo or a note after each visit. Shared jots make this easy: the sitter marks each feeding, walk, and dose as done, adds a note or photo, and you see it from wherever you are without a string of texts.
In JotAboutMe you can invite a sitter to one animal at a time. They see that animal's jots and notes, and nothing else in your household.
Before you leave
•
Do one visit together, or a practice run, for a new sitter.
•
Check you have enough food and medication for the whole trip, plus a few extra days.
•
Leave a spare key with your backup person.
•
Tell your vet a sitter will be caring for your pets, if their office allows a note on file.
Put this into practice with JotAboutMe
A shared board for every animal: repeating jots for meals and medications, reminders at the right time, and a record of who did what. Free for your household.