How to make a backup care plan for your pet 🧭
A backup care plan makes it easier for someone you trust to care for your pet when you are sick, delayed, hospitalized, or otherwise unreachable. It should name the people who can step in, show them how to reach your pet, explain what daily care looks like, and make clear what to do if the situation lasts longer than expected.
The goal is not to predict every possible problem. It is to give another person enough current, usable information to begin with confidence and ask the right questions.
At a glance
A usable backup care plan answers five questions:
Who can step in today?
How can they reach your pet?
What does your pet need every day?
Who should make decisions if you cannot?
Where can they find the current information?
Start with the person, not the paperwork
Choose a primary backup person who already knows your pet or is willing to learn. Ask them directly whether they are comfortable stepping in, what they can realistically handle, and how quickly they could get to your pet.
Then choose a second person. Your first choice may be traveling, unavailable, or dealing with the same local emergency. The ASPCA’s pet planning guidance recommends choosing caregivers in advance and checking in periodically to make sure they are still willing and able to help.
Quick reality check
Your temporary caregiver does not have to be the person who would care for your pet long term. One person might be close enough to handle tonight’s dinner and medication, while another is better suited to make a longer arrangement.
Make access part of the plan
A willing caregiver cannot help if they cannot enter your home, find your pet, or locate the supplies. Decide how they will get a key or access code, whether a building manager or neighbor needs to be involved, and where carriers, leashes, food, medication, and cleanup supplies are kept.
Share only what the person needs, and choose a method that fits your home and your comfort level. If access details change, update the plan before the old information becomes the thing someone relies on.
Access checklist
Home entry instructions are current.
Your caregiver knows where your pet is likely to hide or wait.
Carriers, leashes, and essential supplies are easy to find.
Building, alarm, or gate instructions are clear.
A second person can help if the primary caregiver cannot.
Write down what normal looks like
Basic instructions matter, but context is what helps another person notice when something is off. Record your pet’s usual feeding, bathroom, exercise, play, sleep, and medication routines. Include the small details that make those routines work, such as where your cat prefers to eat or which treat helps your dog take a pill.
Also describe fears, triggers, comfort cues, mobility needs, behavior around other animals or people, and the signs that usually tell you your pet is uncomfortable. The ASPCA includes habits, food preferences, medical conditions, medications, veterinary information, records, and behavior in its suggested pet portfolio.
Tip: Write for someone who cares, but does not know what you know
Replace “feed as usual” with the amount, location, timing, and any important exception. Replace “she gets nervous” with what nervous looks like, what tends to trigger it, and what usually helps.
Decide what happens if your pet needs help
List your regular veterinarian, the emergency clinic you use, your preferred way to be contacted, and the next person to call if you cannot respond. Ask your veterinary practice what information or authorization it wants on file before someone else brings in your pet.
Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine’s Pet Caretaker Treatment Authorization form shows the kinds of choices one veterinary hospital asks clients to confirm, including who may seek treatment, who may make medical decisions, and how payment will be handled. Your own veterinarian’s process may be different, so verify it directly rather than assuming one form works everywhere.
If you are creating legal documents, assigning long-term authority, or arranging money for future care, speak with a qualified professional in your jurisdiction. Your everyday backup plan can support those arrangements, but it does not replace them.
Plan for the first day and the next week
Immediate instructions answer, “What does my pet need right now?” A fuller backup plan also answers what should happen if you remain unavailable.
Include six practical decisions
How long the primary caregiver can continue.
Who takes over if more help is needed.
Whether your pets should stay together.
Where your pet could stay if your home is unavailable.
How ordinary and veterinary expenses will be handled.
Who should receive updates about your pet.
This is also where you can note any boundaries that matter. For example, your backup person may be able to provide daily care but not transport a large dog, administer a particular medication, or house a pet who needs to be separated from other animals.
How Cotl can help
A Cotl Profile can hold the routines, preferences, health context, contacts, records, and other details that make your pet an individual. You can use that information to create Care Notes for a trusted person and choose what belongs in that particular handoff.
For a backup plan, Cotl’s For just in case guidance focuses on immediate care, medication, veterinary contacts, identification, safety risks, backup contacts, and the people who may need to make decisions. Start with the essentials, then add the details that help someone care for your pet like they are known.
Test the handoff before you need it
Walk through the plan with your backup person. Ask them to find the food, carrier, medication instructions, veterinarian’s number, and the current care guide. If they pause or guess, the plan needs one more sentence or a clearer location.
Set a simple review rhythm. Check the plan whenever your pet’s medication, diet, routine, veterinarian, address, access instructions, or caregiver changes. Even a complete plan can become unreliable when one important detail is out of date.
Before you call it done
Your primary and backup caregivers have said yes.
Both people know how to reach your pet and find essential supplies.
Daily routines, medication details, contacts, and behavior notes are current.
Your veterinarian’s authorization and payment process has been checked.
The plan explains what happens if your absence lasts longer.
Your caregiver already has access to the current version.
Questions about backup care plans for pets
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A backup care plan is a practical set of people, access details, care instructions, contacts, and next steps that another person can use when you cannot care for your pet yourself. It should cover immediate needs and explain what to do if the situation continues.
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Choose someone willing, reachable, and realistically able to care for your pet. Familiarity helps, but reliability, access, physical ability, housing limits, and comfort with your pet’s needs matter too. Name a second person in case your first choice is unavailable.
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Not every everyday backup plan is a legal document. If you want to assign legal authority, provide for long-term care, or set aside money, requirements vary and a qualified local professional can help. A practical care guide still gives the chosen person the everyday context they need.
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Include current medications and instructions from your veterinarian, health conditions relevant to care, allergies or sensitivities, the regular veterinarian and emergency clinic, insurance information if applicable, and clear directions about whom to contact. Do not ask a caregiver to diagnose or change treatment on their own.
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Review it whenever something important changes and give it a quick check at least a few times a year. The most useful version is the one your caregiver can actually find and trust today.
Make it easier for someone to step in
Start with one thing another person would need to know about your pet, then build a Care Note for the person you trust.
Some related external resources
Informational disclaimer
The content provided on the Cotl blog is intended for information purposes only and should not be treated as veterinary, medical, health, legal, or financial advice. We always recommend connecting with an expert if you have any specific questions about topics that interest you. Any opinions discussed or reflected in the Cotl blog are not the opinion of Cotl or any of its employees, contractors, officers, directors, stockholders, or other agents or representatives unless explicitly stated as such. Email hello@cotl.pet if you have any questions.