Reduce the household to stations, not cats
A sitter facing four cats with four quirks needs systems, not essays. Set up clearly separated feeding stations, ideally in different rooms or at different heights for the cat who eats up high, and label each station with the cat's name and a photo, so the sitter never has to guess who is who at six in the morning. Pre-portion every meal into labelled containers or bags by day, so feeding becomes opening the right tub at the right station. The more decisions you remove in advance, the fewer mistakes a willing but unfamiliar sitter can possibly make.
Write one checklist in the order the day runs
Replace pages of notes with a single checklist that follows the sitter's actual route: morning feed station by station, water refresh, tray scoop order, evening feed, final tray check, lights and doors. Note the truly critical items in bold, such as the shy cat who must be sighted daily even if she only shows an eye under the bed, and the cat who steals food and must be shut in his room until bowls are empty. A photo sheet with each cat's name, markings and usual hiding place sits at the front, because identifying cats is the sitter's first real job.
Simplify litter, water and play to a rhythm
Group trays where the sitter can service them in one pass, leave more litter, scoops and bags than could possibly be needed, and show exactly where waste goes, so the least pleasant job becomes the most mechanical. Set water bowls, or a fountain with its cleaning steps written in two lines, in the same places every day. For play, leave two familiar wands and one instruction: short sessions with whoever appears, no chasing anyone out of hiding. A multi-cat household runs on rhythm when you are home, and the sitter succeeds by copying the rhythm, not improvising a better one.
Decide the exceptions before they happen
Write down, in advance, the three decisions a sitter dreads: what counts as a vet emergency for these cats, which vet to use, and how you want to be contacted, day or night, for what level of problem. Note each cat's normal appetite and the one who always skips a meal when routines change, so normal weirdness does not trigger panic and real change is not dismissed as normal. Leave payment and authorisation for emergency treatment clearly arranged with your vet, because a sitter should never be choosing between a cat's care and an awkward guess about money.
Give the sitter one place to log it all
With several cats, memory blurs by day three: who ate, whose tray looked odd, who was actually seen today. A shared log the sitter ticks off per cat, per task, per day removes that blur and lets you check in calmly from wherever you are. Setting up each cat's duties in KinsLe Care Teams lets your sitter mark feeding, trays and sightings complete with a timestamp for every cat, so nothing relies on anyone remembering.