Pet care sheet for your sitter

A care sheet is your pet's routine and contacts on paper. The RSPCA's advice for anyone leaving a pet with a sitter is to write down the usual routine and why it matters to stick to it, the food and feeding instructions, how and when to exercise the pet, any medicine and how to give it, the pet's personality and how to handle it, and your own and your vet's contact details, including the out-of-hours service.

Writing it down matters because even a careful sitter forgets details told at the door. PDSA's holiday leaflet makes the same point for small pets: their routine and food needs can be difficult for someone else to remember, so write them down. A printed sheet also works in a power cut, when a phone has died, or when a family member steps in at short notice.

On Petym, the plan you write is the plan the sitter follows: feeding, walks and medicines are done as you write them, and logged as they happen. The care sheet is that plan in a form you can print and stick on the fridge.

If your pet is hurt or ill while you are on a flight or out of signal, a vet may want your permission before treating it. PDSA advises leaving the person caring for your pet a letter that gives them permission to take your pet to the vet and to authorise any treatment. The American Kennel Club lists a veterinarian release form and an emergency contact form among the things a professional sitter's paperwork should include.

The sheet has a consent line you sign, with space to say how the sitter should reach you to agree costs, and a second person to call if you cannot be reached. What you agree to pay and how is your decision: write it down so the sitter does not have to guess. On Petym, in an emergency the sitter calls you and takes your pet to the nearest 24-hour vet on the city's list.

Power cuts: say which fans, lights and sockets run on the inverter, how long it lasts, and which room stays coolest. In summer, the sitter should know to keep a dog or cat in that room if the power goes, because heat builds fast in a closed flat. PDSA lists flat-faced, overweight, young, elderly, giant and long-haired dogs as most at risk of heatstroke.

Water: which tap or purifier the pet's water comes from, and what to do if the tank runs dry. Cooking gas: whether the sitter may use the kitchen, and how to turn the cylinder off. Building: the gate pass or visitor app entry, the lift rules for pets, where the society allows dogs to walk, and the name of the security supervisor.

Seasons: in the monsoon, where towels are kept to dry paws and coats, and which walks flood. Around Diwali, which room your pet hides in during fireworks, and to keep windows and balcony doors shut. Ticks: when the next tick treatment is due, if it falls during the stay.