Pet sitter instructions template
Everything a sitter needs, on two sides — printed, or filled in on screen and handed over as a PDF.
Most sitter briefs get written twice: once as a rushed text the night before, and again as a follow-up when the sitter asks what they were actually meant to do at 7am. This template is the version that survives the trip — two sides, in the order the day happens.
Print it and write on it, or fill it in on screen. Either way the sitter gets something they can stick on the fridge without installing anything or making an account.
Everything it asks for.
Print it and write on it, or copy the fields into whatever you already use.
The basics
You, and your backup
A second name matters more than people expect — phones die, and flights have no signal.
Feeding
Portions in cups or grams, not "a scoop". A scoop is not a unit.
| Time | What | How much | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
Medications
Include what it's for. A sitter who knows why is a sitter who notices when it stops working.
| Medication | Dose | When | What it's for |
|---|---|---|---|
The day, in order
Vet and emergency
Write the after-hours number too. It is never the same as the day one.
House notes
- Where the food, leads and litter live
- Bins, plants, post
- Alarm code and how to disarm it
- Wi-Fi name and password
- Which rooms are off-limits
- Who else might turn up at the door
Anything else
When the paper stops keeping up
This sheet goes stale the moment a dose changes or a vaccine lapses — and then you write it out again. PetPacket keeps the records once and generates the same page whenever you need it, current every time.
Worth reading alongside it: what to leave for your pet sitter, and sitter checklist for cats.
The other templates
- Dog sitter checklist — The dog-specific version — walks, recall, lead manners, and what a stranger needs to know.
- Dog vaccine record template — Every shot a kennel asks about, already printed. You fill in two dates per row.
- Pet vaccination record template — One sheet with every vaccine, the date it was given, and the date it lapses.
- Dog boarding form — What the kennel asks for at check-in, filled in before you get there.
- Pet emergency card — Cut it out and keep it where someone will find it — for the person who has your pet when you don't.
About this template.
What to put in it, and what people usually leave out.
What should pet sitter instructions include?
At minimum: feeding times and portions, medications with doses and timing, the daily routine in the order it happens, your vet and an after-hours number, a backup human who can authorise treatment, and the house basics — alarm, Wi-Fi, where supplies live. Behaviour notes matter more than people expect: knowing where a cat hides when stressed saves an hour of panic.
How long should a sitter brief be?
Two sides at most. A sitter reads it once at handover and then scans it under pressure, so a five-page document is a document nobody consults at 7am. If it runs long, the routine section is usually where to cut — write what happens, not why.
Do I need to leave written instructions for a professional sitter?
Yes, and good sitters ask for them. Professionals often cover several homes a day, so a written sheet means they are not relying on remembering which house has the dog that cannot have chicken. It also settles disagreements about what was agreed.
Is this template free?
Yes. Download the PDF, print it, write on it, no email required. If you would rather not rewrite it before every trip, PetPacket builds the same sheet from records you keep once.
Fill it in once. Hand it over every time.
PetPacket keeps your pet's records in one place and builds the same page whenever you need it — current doses, current vaccines, current vet.
