Why scent is the whole point with mice
A mouse colony runs on shared smell. The group's scent on the bedding is what tells every mouse in the cage that home is home and the hierarchy is settled, which is why a full deep clean is one of the most disruptive things that can happen to them — especially in a strange house, under a sitter's care. Everything you pack should support one goal: spot cleaning only, with the colony's scent preserved from the day they arrive to the day they come home. That is also why the most valuable item in the kit is not a cleaning product at all.
The bag of used bedding
Before the colony travels, scoop a generous quantity of bedding from their home cage — from the sleeping area especially — and seal it in a labelled bag. Instruct the sitter that whenever they remove soiled patches or top up the cage, they finish by scattering a handful of this used bedding back over the surface. That one habit keeps the colony's group scent continuous even as individual corners are cleaned, and it matters most for male groups, where a sudden loss of shared scent can trigger fighting between mice who lived peacefully at home. Include enough to last the whole stay; it cannot be recreated once it runs out.
Spare bedding and nesting material
Pack a sealed bag of the exact bedding the colony already lives on — same type, unscented — in enough quantity for topping up and one full change if something goes badly wrong, such as a spilled bottle soaking the cage. Changing brand mid-stay introduces a new smell and often a different texture that some mice react to, so this is not the moment for whatever the sitter has in a cupboard. Add their usual nesting material too: shredded tissue, paper strips or whatever they are used to dragging into the nest, in a separate bundle so the sitter can refresh the sleeping area without disturbing its structure.
The cleaning items themselves
Keep the list short and safe: unscented paper towels for wiping and spot jobs, disposable gloves so the sitter can handle soiled bedding hygienically, small sealable waste bags so removed bedding leaves the room rather than sitting beside the cage, and one bottle of disinfectant made for small-pet housing, used only on accessories — a washed water bottle, a food dish, a wheel — and rinsed and dried thoroughly before anything goes back in. Strong household sprays and scented cleaners should stay away from the cage entirely; mouse airways are delicate and lingering chemical smells are another assault on the scent map the colony navigates by. A spare water bottle and a supply of their usual food round out the kit, because a leaking bottle at a sitter's house is a when, not an if.
Making it checkable for the sitter
Pack everything into one box or bag that travels with the cage, and write a short list of what is inside and what each thing is for — sitters should never have to guess whether the mystery bag is bedding or rubbish. Listing the kit on the colony's KinsLe Care Pass means the sitter sees the same inventory and the spot-clean-only rule in one place, alongside the feeding routine, so nothing about the colony's scent or cleaning depends on memory.