What to pack for your pet's stay

Overpacking is not really the risk. The risk is packing plenty of the obvious things and none of the three or four items that cause genuine friction when they are missing — the specific measuring cup, the spare lead, the towel you do not mind being ruined.

Work through this in one pass, put everything in a single bag, and label it.

Food

• Enough for the whole stay plus three or four days. Buy it before you go rather than planning a mid-stay top-up.
• The exact brand and formulation currently being eaten. Not the same brand in a different flavour, and not a "premium" upgrade as a treat. Sudden diet changes cause digestive upset, and an unwell animal in an unfamiliar house is the situation you are trying to avoid.
• The measuring implement you actually use, and the amount written in grams. Scoops vary enormously. If you have been feeding "one scoop" for six years, weigh it once and write the number down.
• Treats, including the high-value ones used for recall or medication. Say clearly how many per day is reasonable.
• Their own bowls. Cheap to send, and one less novel object.

The food container itself

Send food in something sealed and rigid. A ripped paper sack in an unfamiliar kitchen with a resident labrador is a predictable outcome, not bad luck.

Medication and health

Covered in detail in the medication handoff guide, but the packing essentials:

• All medication in original labelled packaging, with a week's surplus.
• A written schedule and a dose log grid.
• Whatever you hide tablets in — the specific cheese, the pill pockets.
• Flea and worming treatment if a dose falls during the stay, with the date it is due.
• Vaccination records.
• Your written vet authorisation letter.

Bedding and comfort

• Their own bed, unwashed. This is the single most useful comfort item you can send. Familiar scent is one of the few continuities available to an animal who has changed environment, and washing it removes precisely the thing that makes it work.
• A worn t-shirt of yours, for the same reason. Costs nothing.
• Two or three familiar toys, not the whole collection. Include the one that actually matters if there is one.
• A blanket for furniture or the car, which makes it much easier for a host to say yes to the sofa.
• A crate, if crate-trained. Send it, and say explicitly that it is a safe space and not a punishment — some hosts are uneasy about crates purely because nobody has explained how yours is used.

Walking and identification

• Collar with an ID tag showing your phone number, not the host's.
• A well-fitted harness.
• Lead — and a spare. Leads get lost, chewed, and left in other people's cars.
• A long line if your dog is used to one.
• Poo bags, more than seems necessary.
• High-visibility gear if the stay runs through dark mornings or evenings.
• A muzzle if your dog wears one, along with a plain explanation of when and why.

Add a temporary tag

A cheap extra tag with the host's phone number alongside your own is worth the few pounds. If your dog is found by a stranger while you are abroad, your mobile may not connect. Keep your own number on there too — do not replace it.

Cats specifically

• Litter tray, and the exact litter brand. Cats are genuinely particular about substrate, and a litter change is a common cause of a cat toileting somewhere else.
• Scoop and liners.
• A scratching post — territory-marking behaviour will find an outlet regardless.
• A secure carrier, with familiar bedding inside it.
• A hiding box or covered bed. Cats settle faster with somewhere to withdraw to.
• A plug-in pheromone diffuser if you already use one.

The things people forget

These are the items that generate mid-stay messages.

• Old towels for wet or muddy returns. Hosts are reluctant to use their own and equally reluctant to ask.
• Cleaning supplies — an enzyme cleaner for accidents. Sending it says, without any awkward conversation, that you expect accidents to be possible and do not consider them a disaster.
• A brush, particularly for a long-coated animal on a stay of more than a few days.
• A car harness or crate if there is any chance of a journey, including to the vet.
• A recent clear photograph, full body and side-on. If your pet goes missing, this is what goes on the poster, and phones full of adorable close-ups rarely contain a usable one.

Pack it as one labelled bag

Everything in one place, with your pet's name and your phone number on the outside. Keep medication in a separate clearly marked pouch inside it, so nobody has to dig through toys at seven in the morning.

Put the written care instructions, the vet authorisation, and the dose log in a plastic wallet at the very top. They are the first things needed and the easiest things to lose.

What not to send

• Anything irreplaceable or valuable.
• Rawhide or hard chews, unless you have explicitly cleared them with the host — choking and resource guarding around other animals are real risks.
• A brand-new toy or collar bought specially. Now is not the time to introduce novelty.
• More food than the stay could possibly need, which just becomes a storage problem in someone else's kitchen.