Checklist
What instructions should I leave my cat sitter?
One page, five sections: feeding (amounts + the 1-2-hour wet-food rule), litter (scoop daily), your cat's NORMAL (so changes are visible), the escalation card (your vet + poison control + your numbers), and house quirks (hiding spots, door-dashing risk).Professional guidance
Cats Protection's ceiling: ~12 hours is the max a cat should be alone even occasionally — beyond that you need a sitter visit or cattery, so the instructions ARE the care.
Applies to: Any absence beyond 12 hours. Kittens can only be left a few hours — they need more frequent visits or boarding.
Checklist
Feeding & waterFact
- Exact food, exact amounts, exact times (photo of the portion helps)
- Wet food: discard what sits out beyond 1-2 hours at room temperature
- Fresh water daily; note your cat's usual intake so LESS is noticeable
- Treat budget if any — sitters over-treat anxious cats
Litter & normal-vs-worryFact
- Scoop daily (more with multiple cats); where supplies live
- Write your cat's NORMAL: eating pace, hiding habits, sociability — deviations are the alarm system
- Explicit red lines: not eating for 24h, no urine in the box, vomiting/lethargy = call the vet, then you
The escalation cardProfessional guidance
- Your vet's name/number/address + after-hours emergency clinic
- ASPCA Poison Control (888) 426-4435 / Pet Poison Helpline (855) 764-7661
- Your number, a backup local contact, and written permission to authorize care
- Carrier location, and your cat's microchip number
House quirksProfessional guidance
- Hiding spots (so 'missing' doesn't cause panic or an opened door)
- Door-dash risk and the entry protocol
- Rooms that stay closed; plants/foods that must stay unreachable
Normal vs keep-watching
Normal: A sitter who texts a daily photo and reports eating/litter as usual.
Keep watching: Ask the sitter to log meals eaten and litter output daily — the two numbers that catch problems early.
When to contact a vet. Instruct the sitter in writing: appetite loss beyond 24 hours, no urination, straining, vomiting, or lethargy = vet immediately, don't wait for your return flight. Pre-authorize treatment up to an amount you set.
What changes this answer
- Trip length (daily visits vs twice-daily vs cattery)
- Kitten or senior (shorter alone-ceilings, more checks)
- Medicated cat (dosing walkthrough + video)
Common mistakes
- Verbal instructions only
- No after-hours clinic listed
- Hiding-spot panic → open doors → lost cat
- Assuming a neighbor 'checking in' equals a sitter visit
Sources
- T4 (Cats Protection — UK feline welfare charity; reputable but not a veterinary-clinical body) · Tier 2 · verified 2026-07-17 · commercial bias noted · source conflict noted
- Kinship / Adopt-a-Pet, reviewed by Amy Fox, DVM (vet-reviewed pet food-safety authority) tier2 · Tier 2 · verified 2026-07-18
- PetMD (veterinarian-reviewed pet health authority) - Tier 2 · Tier 2 · verified 2026-07-18
- Cornell Feline Health Center (veterinary academic; tier 1) · Tier 1 · verified 2026-07-18
- ASPCA (national animal-welfare organization) + tier 2 · Tier 2 · verified 2026-07-18
Real questions cat owners ask
- How often should a sitter visit?
- Sitter vs cattery — which stresses a cat less?
- Should the sitter stay overnight?
Print your Passport profile summary — it IS the sitter's reference sheet for normals and meds. Set up your Cat Passport.