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Pet sitter, boarding, or a friend? Choosing care when you travel
Sharing care · 2 min read
Each option suits different pets and trips. Here is how to choose, what to ask, and how to make the handoff smooth.
In-home pet sitters
A sitter comes to your home, either for drop-in visits or to stay overnight. Pets keep their routine and environment, which suits cats, senior pets, anxious animals, and multi-pet homes. Drop-in visits are usually less expensive, but dogs may need several visits a day.
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Ask about experience with your type of pet, and with medications if needed.
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Ask whether they are insured and bonded, and how they handle emergencies.
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Do a meet-and-greet before the trip so your pets meet them with you there.
Boarding facilities and kennels
Boarding offers staff on site, structure, and often play groups for dogs. It can suit social, healthy dogs well. It's less ideal for pets that are stressed by new places, senior pets with complex needs, and most cats.
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Visit before booking. Look at cleanliness, how animals are separated, and how staff interact with them.
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Ask what vaccinations are required and how emergencies are handled.
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Ask how often dogs go outside and whether they're ever left unsupervised.
Friends, family, and neighbors
Someone you know can be a great option, especially for short trips. The risk is informality: they may not know the routine as well, and it can feel awkward to give detailed instructions. Give them the same written plan you'd give a professional.
Whatever you choose, write it down
A clear written plan covers food, amounts, times, medications, walks, house quirks, and emergency contacts. Our pet sitter handoff checklist walks through everything to include.
With JotAboutMe, you can invite a sitter to just the pets they're caring for. They see the jots, reminders, and emergency contacts for those pets only, they mark things done as they go, and you can check in from your trip without texting back and forth.
Put this into practice with JotAboutMe
A shared board for every pet: repeating jots for meals and medications, reminders at the right time, and a record of who did what. Free for your household.