Pet emergency care instructions for a backup caregiver

A willing neighbor may still need help finding the food or knowing which clinic to call. Write down the routine your caregiver would need today, then walk through it together.

For a sick or injured pet, contact a veterinarian or emergency clinic promptly. The CDC emphasizes that first aid cannot replace veterinary care. This sheet organizes the caregiver handover.

See a care card someone can follow

Use your pet’s actual routine, including litter or habitat care where relevant. The American Red Cross recommends recording feeding schedules, medical conditions, behavior concerns, and veterinary contact details. Complete every contact field before using the sheet.

Build the handover in three steps

1. Agree on the help. Ask someone who is comfortable caring for your particular pet. Confirm which tasks they can do, when to start, who will notify them, and whom to try if they are unavailable. Arrange legitimate home access privately; listing a name does not ensure that person can enter.
2. Write the next day’s routine. Add food type, the owner’s feeding amounts and times, water, walks or litter care, handling notes, and exact supply locations. Include your number and a backup contact. For medicines, point to current written veterinary instructions supplied by the owner. Ask the veterinarian about unclear instructions rather than improvising a dose.
3. Confirm the veterinary plan. Check the regular clinic’s number, after-hours route, and transport arrangements. The FDA recommends signed veterinary-care authorization and financial limits for a temporary caretaker. Ask the clinic what it requires, who may approve care, and how payment will work. Keep unresolved arrangements visible.

Use one sheet per pet. Copy the blank labels into a private note, or use the downloadable text template.

Pet and identifying description:
Owner and backup contact:
Caregiver, agreed tasks, and when to start:
Private home-access arrangement confirmed:
Food, amounts, times, and water:
Walks, litter or habitat care, and handling:
Supplies and transport equipment locations:
Regular and after-hours veterinary contacts:
Current veterinary instructions and records location:
Clinic authorization and payment arrangements:
Open question and person checking it:
Last reviewed:

Try the plan before you need it

Ask your caregiver: “Can you find the next meal, the walking or litter supplies, and the number to call if you are worried?” Let them follow the sheet while you are there. Replace “usual scoop” with an exact owner-provided amount, and make sure they can distinguish each pet’s supplies.

Check how they would transport your pet and where the carrier or restraint is kept. The CDC recommends a trusted-neighbor backup, accessible transport equipment, and practice before an emergency. This handover is one part of a wider plan for evacuation or a longer absence.

Keep instructions current and private

Give the completed sheet only to people who need it. Keep door codes, passwords, and payment-card details off it; arrange access and payment separately. Store a paper copy where the agreed caregiver can find it without opening unrelated private records.

Update the sheet after changes to food, medicines, clinics, supplies, or caregivers. Date it and replace old copies. Ask the caregiver to tell you if a label is unclear or a supply has moved, so you can fix the instructions before another visit.

Keep it with your other household notes in the free family emergency binder.

General organizing guidance for U.S. pet owners. Individual care needs should be confirmed with your veterinarian.