Pet Holiday Care Instructions

Who this is for

The handover sheet for the time you are away. It holds the dates, who to ring, the vet and insurance details, what goes with the animal and the day itself, signed by both of you.

Owners boarding an animal at a kennel, cattery or a friend's house, anyone leaving a sitter in charge at home, and the people taking the animal on.

What this helps you track

• The dates you are away and when the animal goes and comes back
• Where you are and every way of reaching you or a second contact
• Your vet, the out-of-hours number and the insurance details
• What goes with the animal, from food to the vaccination record
• The day's routine, in your own words and your own times

How to use it

1. Fill in the animal, the dates and where you can be reached before you hand anything over.
2. Write the vet practice, the out-of-hours number and the insurance policy details, with the microchip number if there is one.
3. Go down the first table and say what is going with the animal and where it is — cross out what does not apply and add your own lines.
4. Write the day out in the second table in your own times, including feeds as your vet advised and any medicine exactly as the label says.
5. Say in the box at the top what you want done if the animal needs a vet, and who may authorise it.
6. Both sign and date the sheet, keep a copy each, and leave the pet sitter sheet with it if someone is staying at the house.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The online version keeps what you enter in your own browser and builds the completed PDF on your device.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

Is this the same as the pet sitter sheet?

They sit side by side. The sitter sheet is the daily routine at your house; this one is the handover for a period away — dates, contacts, consent for treatment and what travels with the animal.

What do I put about veterinary treatment?

Whatever you want to happen and who may agree to it, in your own words. We print no wording and no limit, and whether anything here has legal force depends on the rules where you are.

Do kennels and catteries have their own forms?

Most do, and you fill theirs in as well. This one is the copy you both keep, and it is useful for the things a standard form leaves out.

What goes in the routine table?

The day as you would describe it: when they eat, when they go out, when they settle, and the habits that make the difference. Copy feeding amounts and medicines from what your own vet told you.

Can I reuse it next time?

Fill the browser version in once, download the PDF and change the dates and the contacts for the next trip.