How often should a sitter visit a cat?

Twice a day is the advice from the UK's two big cat charities. Cats Protection says a sitter should visit at least twice a day; Battersea suggests a friend or neighbour visits twice a day, and a professional sitter a few times a day or a live-in sitter. Neither recommends leaving a cat alone overnight with no check.

The reason is timing. Cornell's Feline Health Center calls a blocked urethra, mostly in male cats, an absolute emergency that can kill in less than 24 to 48 hours. A cat that stops eating can become seriously ill too: the Merck Veterinary Manual lists boarding and other stress among the reasons cats stop eating, which in overweight cats can lead to a dangerous liver disease. With one visit a day, a problem that starts just after the sitter leaves is not seen for nearly a whole day. With two, the gap halves.

Two visits also mean two chances to notice smaller things: a cat that ate in the morning but not at night, a tray that has not been used since the last visit, a window that was found open. Each of those means little on its own. Together, over a day, they tell a sitter when to call you.

In India, heat adds a third reason. Water bowls dry out and wet food spoils within hours in summer, so fresh food and water twice a day is the minimum.

If you feed your cat at 8 in the morning and 8 at night, ask for visits near those times. That keeps the routine International Cat Care says helps cats feel secure, and it spreads the gap between checks evenly. Two visits both squeezed into the afternoon leave a long night with nobody looking in.

Think about who else is in the flat. If the cook comes at 7 and the maid at 11, the sitter does not need to come then, but the household help should know the cat's rules. If the security guard needs to log every visitor, two visits a day means two entries; approve the sitter in advance on the society's visitor app.

In a heatwave, or on the evenings of Diwali and big wedding processions, a cat may hide more and drink more. The evening visit matters most on those days: water refreshed, rooms checked, and the cat found and left in peace.

Write down how much your cat usually eats at each meal and how quickly, so a sitter can tell a slow eater from a cat that has stopped. Note how many trays there are, how often you scoop them, and roughly what a normal day's tray looks like. Say where your cat hides when strangers come, so the sitter can check it is there without chasing it. Cats Protection asks owners to leave emergency contacts, the vet's details, enough litter, food and medicine, and daily care instructions.

Add the details only you know: the window it likes, the toy it plays with, the sound of the treat packet, whether it is allowed on the balcony. If you have more than one cat, describe each one separately, with a photo, so the sitter can tell them apart and check each one. Petym's free pet care sheet has a cat section with every one of these fields.