Short answer
What should you tell a pet sitter before you leave?
Give your sitter the pet’s routine (meals, walks, toilet needs), food amounts, any medicine instructions from your vet, where supplies are kept, your vet’s contact details, and how to reach you. Write it down so they do not have to rely on memory.
A simple template
Copy this and fill it in for each pet:
- Pet’s name and a few words about them: shy with strangers, loves a certain toy, afraid of the vacuum
- Meals: times, food type and amount, where the food is kept
- Water: where the bowl is and how often to refresh it
- Walks or play: times, route, how long, and any rules such as leash only
- Toilet: litter box location and how often to clean it, or toilet breaks for dogs
- Medicine: what, when and how, exactly as your vet instructed
- Vet: name, phone number and address, and what to do in an emergency
- You: how to reach you while you are away, plus a backup contact
- House notes: where things are, alarm codes you are comfortable sharing, rooms the pet is not allowed in
Do a trial visit
If your sitter is new, meet them once beforehand so your pet can get to know them and you can walk through the routine together.
Ask for updates you can actually use
A quick note after each visit is enough: that the pet ate, went out and seemed fine. Decide beforehand how you would like to receive it, so neither of you has to chase the other.
How Patikoko helps
With Patikoko you can invite your sitter to your household with the Caregiver or Guest role. They see the routines and reminders, log what they do, and you see it in the care history from wherever you are, without messaging back and forth.
