Label Food So Identity Is Never a Guess
Staff feed many cats, and two tins that look alike to you are indistinguishable in a busy morning round. Send each cat's food in its own container marked with her name in large letters, and tape a photo of that cat to the lid so the face and the food travel together in the feeder's mind. If one food is a prescription-style diet, a kitten food, or a weight-control food, say plainly on the container why it must not be swapped, because staff protect a rule they understand far better than one they are just given. Keep the two containers in separate bags or boxes rather than side by side, so a hurried hand cannot scoop from the wrong one.
Write Amounts in the Tools Staff Will Actually Use
Instructions fail when they describe portions in terms only you can judge. Send the scoop, spoon, or cup you use at home in each cat's bag, and write the amount in those units: two level scoops morning and evening, half a pouch at midday, a handful of biscuits scattered for grazing if that is your cat's pattern. Add what a normal finished meal looks like for each cat — one clears her bowl, the other always leaves a spoonful — so staff can judge appetite accurately instead of worrying over a cat who never finishes. If a cat is to be coaxed, say how: warmed slightly, offered in her hide, hand-fed the first bites.
Specify Where Each Cat Is Fed Inside the Unit
Different foods only stay different if the cats eat apart, so name the arrangement you want rather than hoping staff improvise one. Ask for one cat to be fed on the shelf or in her hide while the other eats on the floor, or for a staff member to stay until the slower eater finishes, or for the pair to be separated by the unit's internal partition at meals if it has one. Say which cat is the thief, how quickly she moves on a neighbour's bowl, and what early sign shows she is about to try. A cat who must eat undisturbed for medical or weight reasons deserves that spelled out, not implied.
Cover Leftovers, Treats, and Water Just as Precisely
Leftovers cause quiet mix-ups: one cat's refused specialist food gets offered to her companion, or yesterday's portion is topped up until nobody knows what was eaten. Instruct staff to remove and note leftovers rather than re-serving them, and to record roughly what each cat ate at each meal so you and they can see appetite changes across the stay. List exactly which treats each cat may have and how many, including a clear none if that is the rule, and state your water preference simply. If either cat drinks poorly away from home, tell staff where her bowl should sit and what encourages her — a bowl away from food suits many cats.
Walk Staff Through It Once, in Person
Even perfect written instructions land better after a two-minute conversation at drop-off, where you can point at the containers, name the thief, and show the photo labels working. Ask the cattery to confirm who feeds at weekends and evenings, and leave your instructions where every shift will see them rather than in a booking folder only the office reads. Invite staff to text you a photo of the first mealtime setup; one picture confirms the whole system is running as intended. All of this travels cleanly to the cattery through KinsLe's Care Pass, which hands staff temporary, clear access to each cat's feeding routine and key details for the length of the stay.