Taking Someone Else’s Cat to the Vet

I cat-sat a sick cat last week. Cousin Shep wasn’t feeling well before my sister left town, but this is a trip she couldn’t postpone. Besides, who would have guessed that eat less as days went by instead of more? So on Saturday morning when he refused food entirely, we were off to the vet.

I knew which vet to take him to because it’s the same as my vet. But once Dr. K started asking questions, I gave him the deer in headlights look to a lot of them. “Is his energy level normal?” What’s normal in a cat I don’t know on an everyday basis?

It it got me thinking how often those of us who have cats are asked to cat sit for friends and might not have that information available. Professional cat sitters have a checklist of information they gather from customers, but as amateurs, we don’t have a handy list of questions to ask that we might need to know on short notice if a cat we are caring for falls ill.

There’s no way to ask someone, “How active is your cat usually? I need to know in case he gets sick so I can compare.” But you can be as prepared as possible by making sure you know the basics:

Who is your cat’s regular veterinarian? (Name, address, phone number)

Does your cat have any health conditions I should know about? Allergies?

When your cat isn’t feeling well or is scared, where does he normally hide? (This one might save you a lot of time even with a healthy cat!)

Where do you keep your cat carrier?

Hopefully you won’t ever need to take anyone else’s cat to the vet while you’re cat sitting. But won’t you be glad you had this information if you do need it?

It’s also a good idea to talk to them about how to handle things in case you feel like their cat needs veterinary attention, but you can’t reach them for permission to take the cat to the vet. People are sometimes out of touch for an extended time while they are away, and you don’t want to have to wonder whether they would be all right with your taking their cat out of the house for medical care.

As for Cousin Shep, after treatment for a low-grade fever and nausea, he ate his first full meal in five days. A visit to the vet was just what he needed, even though he gave the epic stink-eye the whole time.

I’ve had to take a neighbor’s cat that I was cat sitting to the vet…the emergency vet at that because it was a serious situation after hours. The bill I had to leave behind wasn’t pretty. Definitely a scary situation.

I do professional catsitting to expand my knowledge and experience with cats and you couldn’t be more right. It is scary, especially when you’re taking care of someone elses treasure. The first time I did this for family, the cat got a rat bite, I couldn’t reach my aunt, and I spent an entire night watching him as he spiked a fever, before I could take him to a vet. After that, I had to inject him with antibiotics for 5 days – me, who at that point was scared of needles.

These days, I have 3 forms I require owners to fill out: one to sign with the key exchange – both when receiving and returning the key, one that stipulates my responsibilities as well as the things that I cannot be held responsible for (such as the illness of a cat), and one that details all the data you listed in your article, as well as their age, gender, date of birth, peculiarities in the personality ( in order to spot irregularities in behavior and symptoms of illness faster), medications, brief medical histories and so on. I also ask them if they’d like to be notified daily or every other day how their cat is doing and whether i should call them in case of emergency and if they’ll be reachable.

Personally, when I hire a cat sitter, I also leave out my own contact info as well as the ‘passports’ for my animals (containing their chip number, medical history and vaccinations) on the kitchen counter, along with the business card of my vet, and any meds or instructions and money for deposit at the vet, so that everything is in reach in one go.

I’ve had owners be pleasantly surprised by all the paper work they had to fill in as it made them feel more secure with my services. So far, I haven’t had any sick animals yet on my watch, thank god, but you have to be prepared for it at all times.

I can relate to this experience for sure. When I was taking Jewel to the vet (but she wasn’t living with me yet), I was dumbfounded by all the questions, and when I asked her former owner for information, he didn’t know anything because he didn’t pay attention to her.

Thank you for the tips on being prepared to take someone else’s kitty to the vet. I hope they help other people who watch kitties while their owners are away.

We’re glad Shep is doing better! When our cat sitter comes Mommy leaves the carriers out with our names on them and the vet’s number on the fridge. We’re lucky because our sitters know our vet. These are good questions to ask if a human is watching a cat.

Great tips.
I have a file folder for each pet that contains all their health information. On front of each folder I have a 1-page summary with their photo, basic info (age, sex, spayed). Then I list of their most important medical history and all medications. I also list their regular foods and amounts, and treats. Then a few notes about personality (quiet, playful, favorite toys, etc).

When the pet sitter comes, I leave this folder out, and a signed & dated letter authorizing the sitter to seek emergency treatment. I also put out the pet carrier and other supplies (carpet cleaning solution, cleaning rags).

You always hope none of this will ever be needed, but it’s important that your pet can be properly cared for when you’re away.

Through the years friends and I have swapped caring for each other’s cats. Then for many more years our vet was our cat sitter. The best scenario. I have never had to take anyone else’s cat to the vet, but a friend had to take one of ours. I now keep a PTU out at all times and have a magnet up with all the vet’s information on it for our cat sitter, who also is our housekeeper and knows the cats well. Such good advice you have given here.

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