A Review-Ready Cat Sitter Handoff Sheet

Record the owner's name, travel dates, preferred contact method, primary veterinarian, after-hours clinic, and one local backup person. State who can authorize veterinary evaluation if the owner cannot be reached and how payment will be handled. Confirm the carrier location and transport plan.

Do not leave a sitter to search the web during an emergency. The American Veterinary Medical Association recommends keeping veterinary, emergency-hospital, and poison-control contacts with the pet's medical information and first-aid supplies.[^1] The sitter should call a veterinary professional for case-specific instructions rather than attempting an online remedy.

List the cat's name, photo, microchip information, age, distinguishing features, usual hiding places, normal greeting behavior, and handling limits. Replace labels such as “friendly” or “grumpy” with concrete information: “usually watches from the bedroom shelf for five minutes,” or “does not tolerate being picked up.”

Note the cat's normal appetite, water habits, litter output, activity, and mobility. A baseline helps the sitter notice change without treating every quiet visit as abnormal. If the cat is usually social but cannot be located, include a safe room-by-room search plan that avoids opening exterior doors or moving dangerous furniture alone.

Record the exact food, amount, measuring method, meal times, storage, and what to do with leftovers. Include foods and treats that must not be given. If several cats live together, describe how meals are separated and how the sitter can tell who ate.

For timed devices, provide a manual backup. The Cat & Meow guide to automatic cat feeder checks covers power, clock, portion, lid, chute, and cleaning checks. A feeder notification is not proof that food reached the bowl or that the intended cat ate it.

Cornell's Feline Health Center notes that traffic, noise, other animals, dirty containers, and nearby litter boxes can deter a cat from eating.[^2] Ask the sitter to record food offered and food remaining. Poor appetite can be important, especially when combined with vomiting, diarrhea, weakness, pain, or another change; define when the sitter must call the owner and veterinarian.

List every water location and the expected cleaning or refresh routine. If a fountain is used, identify a spare bowl and where it should be placed if the pump stops, the reservoir empties, or the water appears dirty.

The cat water-fountain cleaning checklist can help owners document pump, filter, seam, and reservoir checks. The sitter should follow the device manufacturer's instructions and should never add cleaners, supplements, or flavorings unless the owner and veterinary team have provided explicit directions.

Ask for a short observation rather than a precise intake claim unless the household has a validated measuring method. “Water refreshed; fountain running; cat seen drinking once” is more reliable than an unsupported estimate.

Map every litter box and state the scoop, bag, disposal, liner, and cleaning routine. Record the usual litter type and depth. For multiple cats, do not require the sitter to assign output to an individual unless it was directly observed or the setup makes attribution reliable.

Automatic boxes still need direct inspection. The guide to self-cleaning litter-box weekly checks covers waste drawers, sensors, liners, moving parts, and manual backups. The sitter should know how to make the unit safe and provide a conventional box if a fault occurs, following the owner's instructions.

Write escalation rules plainly. Repeated box visits, straining, vocalization, blood, or little to no urine can require urgent veterinary attention, especially in male cats. The sitter should call rather than waiting for the next scheduled visit.

For every medication, copy the veterinary label: name, strength, dose, route, time, storage, and prescribing clinic. Demonstrate the technique before travel. State what the sitter should do if a dose is late, refused, vomited, spilled, or uncertain—usually this means calling the owner or clinic, not automatically repeating it.

Never pre-authorize doubling a dose. Keep medications in original labeled containers and separate each cat's supplies. If the cat's condition or the sitter's safety makes administration unreliable, arrange professional boarding or veterinary technician visits rather than hoping the routine will work.

Before departure, secure medication, cleaners, string, ribbon, thread, hair ties, essential oils, unstable objects, and unidentified or toxic plants. Check windows, screens, doors, blind cords, recliners, and gaps behind appliances. Leave written instructions about rooms or doors that must remain closed.

The ASPCA maintains a searchable plant list for cats and advises contacting a veterinarian or poison-control service for suspected toxic exposure.[^3] Give the sitter the exact plant names when known. Do not ask them to induce vomiting or administer a home treatment without professional instruction.

Use one row per visit:

Time	Cat located and behavior	Food and water	Urine and stool	Medication	Home/device check	Action taken
Example: 8:00 a.m.	On bedroom shelf; approached after bowl placed	45 g offered, 10 g remained; water refreshed	One urine clump, formed stool	Given as labeled	Feeder clock correct; fountain running	Texted routine update

Photos can help with handoff but should not replace written amounts or urgent calls. Agree on when routine updates are sent and which observations require immediate contact. If a camera is used, disclose it to the sitter and respect local privacy law.

Before travel, have the sitter complete the routine while the owner observes. Test keys, alarm steps, feeding measurements, carrier access, medication technique, litter equipment, and the emergency call tree. Correct the handoff sheet based on what was confusing.

Leave a printed copy in a known place and a secure digital copy with the owner and backup person. Date the sheet and review it whenever food, medication, devices, veterinary contacts, household animals, or access instructions change.

The best handoff does not attempt to predict every scenario. It makes ordinary care consistent and gives the sitter a clear path to professional help when something falls outside the ordinary.

Editorial disclosure: This public review template was prepared by Cat & Meow. The three Cat & Meow links are clearly identified, topic-specific supporting resources. They do not replace individualized veterinary advice.