Pet

If you have The Sims: Unleashed or The Sims 2: Pets you can own a variety of pets and customize them at your leisure.

The Sims: Unleashed

In The Sims: Unleashed, your Sims get the long-awaited addition of pets to their families. They can either own a cat or a dog, both of which are available only in the same small size.

Although guinea pigs and fish could be obtained before Unleashed was released, it was that expansion pack that really increased the number of pets that Sims could buy. As well as many small pets, Sims could purchase cats and dogs as well, choosing from many different breeds. Adopting a pet can help your Sim at home, especially if they live alone. Dogs can bring the newspaper in every morning if trained, whilst cats can chase away rabbits and gophers from your vegetable patch.

Like human Sims, pets have different motives that will need fulfilling, and each have different personalities. For example, a lazy cat isn't about to do a great deal of wandering around, and an aggressive dog might not like you pampering it all day. Pets don't necessarily need to be bought, though; if there are stray cats or dogs wandering around your neighborhood and you make friends with them, you can adopt them absolutely free, although this can take time.

Cats and dogs each have three skills they can learn. Both cats and dogs can learn Tricks and Obedience. Cats can learn Hunting, while dogs can learn the Housebroken skill.

Cats and dogs have two life stages, kitten or puppy and adult. Adult cats and dogs, like human Sims in The Sims, are ageless and have indefinite life spans.

Cats and dogs can be told to move by using the Go Here interaction, but cannot be told to use objects. Players with The Sims: House Party or a compilation which includes it should note that dogs and cats cannot use the Anti-Heisenberg Teleporter or objects based on it.

House Breaking

File:Behaviour housebroken.gif

It takes time, but your pet needs to learn what it can and can't do. In the case of dogs, the first step is to teach them not to relieve itself in the house. Wait until your dog has to go (toilet thought bubble), step outside the house and call him. Your dog should come to you and relieve himself outdoors. When this happens, praise your dog and give him a treat, so he knows he did well. If your dog 'goes' in the house, scold him. The proper use of 'Praise' and 'Scold' over time will teach your pet where to relieve his bladder, as well as keeping him out of certain rooms. Fortunately, cats will automatically 'go' in the litter box as long as you have one. Fun note: dogs will often help "water" the plants in your vegetable garden. You can't make them, but they'll tag along after your sim while they're weeding and spontaneously make with the watering.

Breeding

If you want more little bundles of fur running around your house, you might want to consider breeding your pets. Just like having Sim babies, puppies and kittens are items. A neglected puppy or kitten will be taken away by Animal Control. It will take three Sim days for the kitten or puppy to mature, and once it does you will be given the option to keep it or sell it.

Pet Shows

To participate in a pet show, you take your pets to an Old Town lot and enter the competition. If there's a Judging Station in a lot, a Pet Judge will come up to you and ask if you want to enter the competition. Pets are judged according to their skills and their mood at the time, so make sure your pet's needs are taken care of before leaving the house. There are various trophies and ribbons that can be won, which can be taken home and placed on the Pet Award Cabinet.

The Sims 2: Pets

In The Sims 2: Pets you can have not only small pets (womrats, birds and fish), but a dog or a cat as well! These are highly variable (you can set their 'personality' as well as their fur color and style. See Create-A-Pet), they have their own motives, learned behaviors, and you can teach them certain commands. They even have their icon near your Sims! However, you cannot control them (unless you use cheats).

Pets have three Life stages, kitten or puppy, Adult and Elder. Kittens and puppies cannot have jobs or learn commands but they can learn behaviors. They also must be carried up and down stairs.

Motives

Like human Sims, pets have eight need meters that contribute to their overall mood.

Hunger

Pets need to eat just as much as Sims do. Luckily, they're not nearly as demanding about when or what to consume. To feed pets, you have two options. The best way is to buy a pet bowl. They come in three designs (with multiple styles in each design), and can be bought in the Pet subsort of the Miscellaneous sort of Buy Mode.

Alternately, pets can eat human food as well. If a plate is nearby, a pet may help himself to it. Pets won't get sick off human food or anything, but it's far more expensive in the long term to feed your pets this way.

Once you have a pet bowl, simply command a Sim to fill it. Ten simoleons will be deducted from your account automatically, and the bowl will be filled right then. A single pet can eat for several days on one fill. Only one pet can eat from the bowl at a time, so you may need multiple bowls for multiple pets.

Also, don't forget to clean the bowl now and then before refilling it. Maids will do this automatically in addition to their other duties, so if you've got the help, you won't have to worry about it.

If a pet is hungry and his bowl is empty, he may beg your Sim for food. If he does, your Sim may automatically fill it. You can cancel this command, of course, but it's probably better to just let your Sim fill it.

Comfort

Pets rarely have low comfort meters, as they'll often look for places to sit or lie. Like Sims, pets will probably get the biggest boost to Comfort when they sleep. As long as you have comfortable pet beds, or don't mind pets being on furniture, Comfort isn't likely to be a problem.

Bladder

When a pet needs to go, it needs to go. Cats will automatically seek out litter boxes if you have them, and it takes several trips to a litter box before it needs to be cleaned. To know when to clean it, Sims in the bathroom will start reacting to the smell. Until then, cats have no problem using it. Cats will only pee elsewhere if the box is too full, or if you specifically train them not to. Actually, cats can even be trained to use the toilet, eliminating the need for litter boxes entirely!

Dogs can be taken on walks which relieves their bladder needs.

Energy

They'll sleep pretty much anywhere, but they prefer pet beds and pet houses, it's best to encourage sleeping in pet beds and pet houses because their energy level goes up much quicker especially with expensive pet resting objects. Note that large dogs can't fit into the dog houses with doors; they'll need open pet beds. Cats and small dogs however can fit anywhere. All pets can use floors, couches, or Sim beds if you let them.

Fun

Cats and dogs have many ways they enjoy themselves, but they get the best Fun boost from other beings. That can mean playing fetch with a Sim, or playing around with other dogs and cats. Most of the toys in Buy Mode are for cats; dogs get a bigger kick out of social interaction and digging holes.

A lot of times, a pet's Fun meter will go up while training a command. Of course, training drops the Energy meter a little quicker, so you'll have to find a balance there. If you have lots of cat toys within reach of your cat in your lot then they will probably play with them when their fun goes down and it's best if you praise them when they play with cat toys because when it has completely learnt to play you can command it to play with whatever and whoever you want.

Social

Pets are social creatures, even more so than Sims. Unless a pet is both independent and lazy, he'll almost assuredly take care of Social on his own. Pets of course will want to interact with their masters, but if multiple pets are on the lot, they'll almost always be interacting with each other. Either way, pets will interact with strays as well, keeping that Social meter nice and high.

Hygiene

The Hygiene meter is extremely dependent on the species. Cats are naturally clean, always licking themselves and making sure their meters are nice and high. Even pigpen cats are pretty hygienic.

Dogs require baths to get clean.

Scratch & Chew

For cats the eighth meter is called Scratch. For dogs it is Chew. Cats need to sharpen their claws now and then, and will seek out whatever is nearby to do so. Buying a scratching post or a chew toy in Buy Mode, will lessen the risk that pets will destroy furniture. If a pet does annihilate a bed, couch, or whatever, it cannot be repaired. All that can be done is clean up the mess and buy a new one.

Pets can be trained to use scratching posts and chew toys, of course, but they typically will do it on their own anyway. It is best if you praise the pet for scratching or chewing things that you want it to scratch or chew otherwise it might fall back to destroying furniture. If you see your pet destroying your valuable furniture, you should scold it, though it's best if you have a good relationship with the pet before scolding it.

Adoption

Pets can be adopted by befriending a stray or by using the phone. There are pet stores in the Lots Bin, but you will have to place one if you want Sims to be able to get a pet from a pet store. It appears that the only way to adopt a kitten or puppy is to use the phone.

Breeding

A puppy and its mother.

If there is both a male and female pet of the same species on a Sim's lot and there is a pet house available, a Sim has the option to command a pet to try to have puppies/kittens with another pet. If successful, the two pets will go into a pet house and woohoo. Pets can produce a litter of up to 4 puppies or kittens. You also have the options of keeping your pet's offspring, or selling them.

Differences between Unleashed and Pets

There are a few differences between pets in Unleashed and in Pets that players used to Unleashed should be aware of.

• In Unleashed, cats and dogs can sleep even if there's a source of noise, such as a turned-on television or stereo, in the same room. This is not the case in Pets. In Pets, noises that awaken human Sims will also awaken pets. So in Unleashed, you could let Sims watch television or play piano while a cat or dog was sleeping nearby, but in Pets, that will keep the pet from getting sleep.

• In Pets, having a cat will not cause mice to appear, as it does in Unleashed.

• In Unleashed, there is an object. the Squeak-EE-Clean Pet Tub, which is made for bathing dogs. In Pets, dogs are bathed in ordinary bathtubs (though dog-only wash tubs are available as custom content).