Be Clear Whose Cat This Is and Who Decides
Begin with the chain of responsibility, because a sitter may otherwise take instructions from whoever is nearest. Explain that this cat belongs to a deployed owner, that the temporary carer is looking after her on that owner's behalf, and that the owner's written instructions outrank household preference if the two ever differ. Say who can make decisions while the sitter is in charge: what the sitter can handle alone, what goes to the temporary carer, and what must be referred to the owner or a named local contact, especially veterinary care and any spending beyond the everyday. If the owner has left an emergency authorisation or a nominated person who can consent to treatment, show the sitter where that document lives. Also be clear about the boundaries that protect everyone: the cat is not the sitter's to rehome, rename or lend, whatever the stay throws up.
Pass On the Owner's Routine Word for Word
The temporary home will have built its own rhythm around this cat, but underneath it sits the owner's routine, and the sitter needs to know which is which. Brief the feeding plan exactly as the owner specified it, including the food itself, because a well-meaning change mid-deployment is how stomach upsets and food refusal start. Cover the owner's rules that travel with the cat: whether she is indoor only, how she is with handling and visitors, the words or sounds she responds to, and any habits the owner flagged as normal for her, such as hiding from the vacuum or yowling at dawn. Then layer in this household's practical adaptations, where her tray and bed actually are in this home and which room she has claimed, labelled clearly as local arrangements rather than the owner's instructions.
Plan for an Owner Who May Be Hard to Reach
Contact with a deployed owner can be delayed, patchy or scheduled, so the briefing should never rest on being able to ask the owner in the moment. Give the sitter the full contact ladder in order: the temporary carer first for anything immediate, then the owner's nominated local contact, then the owner by whatever channel and at whatever times communication is realistic. Leave the vet's details and the emergency arrangement where the sitter can find them at night, not in a thread they must scroll. Agree what the sitter should record for the owner, since a simple log of appetite, litter habits and anything unusual is gold for someone far away who cannot see their cat: plain daily facts, and a photo if the household usually sends one.
Treat the Cat's Adjustment as Part of the Job
A cat living in a temporary home is managing change she did not choose, and a brand-new sitter is another change on top. Brief the sitter on how she has settled so far: how long she took to eat normally, where she hides when the house is busy, whether she has attached herself to one person or one room, and what has helped, often something small like a blanket that came with her from her own home. Ask the sitter to keep her world predictable, same feeding spots, same order of tasks, no new rooms opened up for novelty, and to let the cat set the pace for affection. Note anything that signals she is struggling rather than settling, such as hiding through whole days or going off food, and who to tell the same day.
Using a KinsLe Care Pass for this stay keeps the deployed owner's routine, contacts and decision rules in one handover the sitter can recheck, so nothing about this cat's care depends on anyone's second-hand memory.