While You're Away — The TOCA Pet Sitter Kit

A thoughtful handover kit for the person caring for your dog or cat while you're away.

Save more: get this kit with the When You’re Away guide in The Away Bundle ($25 instead of $31), or buy any 2 guides and save 20%, applied automatically at checkout.

At the kitchen table, Maya began with the food container. Then she stopped. 'There is something else about the blue blanket,' she told Jo. You know which blanket they choose, where the spare lead lives and what an ordinary evening looks like. While You're Away helps you put those details somewhere your caregiver can actually use them: clear instructions and a warm introduction, in one place.

What you get

• The fillable workbook (PDF): 18 pages in US Letter and A4, with 113 answer fields and status boxes. Type into it in Adobe Acrobat Reader, or print it and write by hand.
• 12 guided planning pages: meet my companion, agreeing the care (not just the dates), a familiar day, food and current instructions, the little things that feel like home, the home walkthrough, a six-item handover checklist, usable contacts, if something changes, useful updates, the visit record, and coming home.
• A one-page quick sheet with space for a photo and essential contacts, plus a reusable visit sheet to copy for each visit.
• Browser editors (ZIP, works offline): a typed workbook, an expandable visit diary (up to 200 visits), a photo-ready quick sheet and three companion cards, each with download, restore and print.
• Filled examples: a fictional dog handover and a shorter cat example, to show the level of detail to aim for.

Built on real sources

Background is referenced to AAHA, the ASPCA and the RSPCA, with links. None of them has reviewed or endorsed TOCA.

What it isn't

Educational organization only: not veterinary advice, a care contract or authorization for treatment. It supplies no doses and does not promise any particular response from your animal. Follow your current veterinary directions and ask a veterinarian about health or behavior concerns. The text and cover were created with AI tools and edited by TOCA; no independent veterinary review is claimed.

Practical details

• Three files (fillable US Letter PDF, fillable A4 PDF, and the complete kit ZIP with print PDFs and browser editors), delivered by email right after checkout
• Desktop browser recommended for the browser editors. Answers stay on your device; download backups. The quick sheet is filled separately and does not sync with the workbook.
• English (US). Digital files only; no physical product is shipped. No sitter booking, alerts or professional service is included.
• For personal household use; you may share your completed plan with your caregivers. Please don't resell or redistribute the blank files.

Prefer a shorter read? When You’re Away is our compact handover guide. Moving home soon? See A Familiar Place. Planning for the longer term? See Always Cared For. Are you a professional pet sitter? See The Thoughtful Pet Sitter Kit, our working templates for sitters.

Better rest for happier pets.