What is in this guide
Choose holiday pet care options by matching your pet’s usual routine with the care someone can actually provide, then compare the full cost for your dates. Boarding, a paid sitter and a neighbour are arrangements to investigate; the useful detail is who does each task, when they attend and who takes over if plans change.
1. Write down the care you need before choosing who provides it
Start with a normal day at home. List meals, water checks, toileting or litter tasks, walks, company and any existing care instructions. Add the times you leave and return, including the first evening and last morning. Those edges belong in the arrangement too.
Keep the list specific. Write where the food is kept and what the carer needs to do, rather than saying your pet is easy. Include anything the person needs to know about handling, doors, other animals or parts of the house that are off limits.
For a cat staying home, our guide to keeping an indoor cat occupied can help you describe the familiar setup you want maintained. Keep holiday instructions focused on the routine already in place.
If an existing health or behaviour concern affects the choice, ask your vet and prospective carer about suitability before committing. This planning checklist cannot decide that for an individual pet.
2. Compare the actual arrangement behind each label
CHOICE distinguishes boarding, sitting in your home and care in somebody else’s home. It also points out that someone staying overnight may work long days. An overnight booking therefore needs a separate conversation about daytime availability. [S2]
Use these questions to turn the label into a practical offer:
| Arrangement | What you are organising | What to establish before agreeing |
|---|---|---|
| Boarding facility | A stay away from home | Daily routine, accommodation, staffing and collection times |
| Sitter staying in your home | Home access and an overnight presence | Hours away, agreed tasks, visitors and household boundaries |
| Sitter making visits | A series of scheduled attendances | Visit times, duration, tasks and arrangements between visits |
| Care in the sitter’s home | Transport and a different household setup | Other animals, household routine and who provides care |
| Neighbour or friend | An informal arrangement with explicit responsibilities | Actual availability, comfort with the tasks and backup |
There is no need to shortlist every option. Remove arrangements that cannot cover the requirements you wrote down, then compare the remaining offers on the same basis.
3. Ask about the hours that are easy to overlook
For boarding, CHOICE recommends asking what exercise and play actually involve and checking after-hours staffing. These are useful questions even when a booking description sounds comprehensive. [S2]
Ask the provider to walk through a normal day for your pet. Who does the morning tasks? What happens in the evening? If you are considering a sitter, ask about their other commitments during your dates rather than relying on a general profile description.
With a neighbour, make the request concrete: dates, tasks and the attendance you need them to discuss with you. Give them room to decline particular jobs. Someone who is happy to collect the post may not be willing or able to take on pet care as well.
If two people will share the job, assign each attendance to one named person. Write down how they confirm it is finished. Avoid leaving the boundary between their responsibilities for them to work out after you depart.
4. Request a total for the whole absence
Send each paid provider the same dates, pet details and task list. Ask for an itemised written total, then check what it includes. The following are questions for your quote, not a claim that every provider charges these fees:
- Is the booking counted by night, calendar day, visit or another unit?
- Does the collection time change the total?
- Is there a minimum stay or holiday-period charge?
- Which requested tasks are included, and which need a separate quote?
- Who supplies food and everyday consumables?
- What deposit, cancellation and change terms apply?
- What happens to the booking and cost if your return is delayed?
Compare the final total alongside the coverage offered. Do not compare an overnight stay with a short visit as though the two purchases were equivalent.
For unpaid help, agree on supplies, reimbursements and any reciprocal favour beforehand. Put those commitments in the holiday budget too. Ask who will pay an unexpected bill initially and how you will settle it; do not assume the carer can cover it until you return.
5. Meet the carer and walk through the handover
Arrange a meeting before the departure-day rush. Use it to demonstrate the tasks, show the equipment and ask the carer to identify anything they cannot take on. A meeting is a chance to find gaps, not proof that the arrangement will suit every situation.
For boarding or care at another home, request the provider’s current admission checklist and confirm what you must bring. Pass veterinary requirements to your clinic rather than borrowing another owner’s checklist. If transport involves a cat carrier, allow time for making the carrier familiar at home.
For care in your home, test the key or access method together. Show the carer where supplies live and how doors lock. Keep walking equipment in one place; organising leads and towels by the door gives you a practical starting point.
Ask for a message confirming the first agreed attendance. Specify how you want later updates handled so neither side has to guess whether a message is expected after every task.
6. Leave one handover and one backup plan
RSPCA Australia advises planning for a delayed return and giving the carer veterinary records and the vet’s contact details. Use those as the basis for the contingency section of your handover. [S1]
Keep the document short enough to use, with these headings:
- Daily routine and where supplies are stored.
- Existing instructions and records the carer needs.
- Your contact details and a named local backup.
- Veterinary contact details and the agreed process for obtaining help.
- Access arrangements if the main carer cannot attend.
- What happens if you are delayed, including who confirms continued care.
Ask the backup person directly whether they accept that role and which dates they can cover. A name on a sheet is only useful if that person knows what they have agreed to do.
Include an identification check in your preparations. Our guide to pet ID tags and Australian requirements covers that separate task without adding legal detail to the handover.
Your next step: write the care brief, send the same version to your preferred providers or neighbour, and ask them to confirm the duties, dates, cost and backup arrangements before you agree.
The one-page family week
One printable page that holds the whole week: meals, school, activities and who is doing the pickup. Free, and we send one useful email a week.
One email a week. No spam, unsubscribe in a click.
