Pet care during a hospital stay

A planned trip gives you weeks. A hospital admission gives you hours, sometimes none — and you are arranging it from a bed, often while unwell. This article is about that situation specifically: what can realistically be organised at short notice, and the small amount of preparation that makes it manageable if it ever happens.

What can be arranged at short notice

Home visits are the realistic option. One or two visits a day — food, fresh water, litter, some company, and a short walk for a dog. The animal stays in familiar surroundings, which matters more when its routine has already been disrupted by your absence.

Boarding takes longer to set up: it needs a meeting, a check on other animals in the household, and transport for your pet. It is rarely available within hours.

What makes the difference is access. If nobody can get into your home, no arrangement works at all — which is why the key question below matters more than the choice of arrangement.

The three things to settle from a hospital bed

Who has keys, and how the sitter gets them. This is the blocking point. If a neighbour, a family member or a building caretaker holds a spare set, say so immediately — it is the difference between an arrangement that happens today and one that does not.

Who can act for you. Give one person's name and number who can meet the sitter, make a decision about the animal, and be reached if you cannot. From a hospital, you may be unavailable for hours at a time.

The essentials, spoken not written. Food and quantities, any medication, the vet's name. You will not be writing a sheet — say it clearly on the phone and ask for it to be repeated back.

What to prepare before you ever need it

Ten minutes, once, that make the difference if this ever happens.

Keep a spare set of keys with someone you trust, and make sure your household knows who has them.

Write a single sheet and leave it where it is visible: food quantities and timing, medication, the vet's name and number, and where the health record is kept. It serves an emergency sitter as well as any planned one.

And if you can, meet a sitter once before you need one. An hour's introduction with no departure planned turns a stressful emergency call into a simple confirmation.

The rate

The national reference rate for pet care is 50 DH per hour. Visit-based care is quoted on the number and length of visits rather than on the total hours you are away — two short visits a day cost less than a continuous presence, and are usually what the animal actually needs.

Frequently asked questions

How quickly can someone come?

It depends on availability in your area, and no delay is guaranteed. What genuinely speeds things up: saying it is urgent in the first line, giving a wide window rather than a precise hour, naming who holds keys, and staying reachable.

What if nobody has a spare key?

That is the real obstacle, and it is worth solving before it arises. If it has already arisen, someone who can let a sitter in — a family member, a building caretaker — becomes the first person to contact, before you look for a sitter at all.

Can someone else book on my behalf?

Yes, and from a hospital that is often the sensible arrangement. Give that person the details of the animal and the access, and make sure the sitter knows who is authorised to decide if you cannot be reached.

My cat is used to being alone. Does she still need visits?

Yes. Fresh water and a clean litter tray are not optional beyond a day or two, and an unexplained absence is a stressor in itself. One visit a day is usually enough for a cat, which is also the least disruptive arrangement.

Going further

See pet sitting for how booking works, or the pet sitting FAQ for other situations.