Animal

Animals in The Sims
Apart from pets that you can buy, there are other, wilder, animals that appear in The Sims. The first wild animal (as long as you don't count the cockroach) was Claire the Bear, a grizzly bear who was introduced in The Sims Hot Date. She occasionally wanders onto your lot, and although she means no harm, she often roots around in your trashcan, waking up all the Sims in your house. If the wooden bear statue is outside your house when she appears, she will wave at it; if you put a bear skin rug out, poor Claire will start crying.

With the Sims Unleashed came a variety of new wild critters. Should your Sim have a vegetable patch with crops in them, especially carrots, then it is likely to be visited by rabbits and gophers, which can quickly destroy your garden. The only way of getting rid of them is by buying a cat, who will scare off any small mammals who fancy nibbling at your crops.

Raccoons can also appear, but they aren't as troublesome. Like Claire the bear, raccoons like to paw around in your trashcan, waking your Sims in the dead of night. If you have a dog, though, it can chase the raccoon away before your Sims awaken. The skunk is another unwanted visitor, and although he doesn't wake up your Sims, he can spray them if they go to pet it, which will slice their Hygiene down to zero. Your pets can get sprayed as well if they go to investigate it. The skunk will leave after a few days, but if you're in a hurry, you can phone Animal Control and they will humanely remove the skunk from your property for §30.