Pet
Pet
A Sim playing fetch with a dog in The Sims 2 Pets for console.
With The Sims: Unleashed, The Sims 2: Pets, and The Sims 3: Pets Sims can own a variety of pets. Although all games have small pets that Sims can take care of by feeding and cleaning their cage, these expansion packs allow the greater interaction and customization of their furry loved ones.
Unlike small pets, these pets can befriend Sims, learn skills, and be bred.
The Sims: Unleashed
In The Sims: Unleashed, Sims get the long-awaited ability to add pets to their families. They can own cats and dogs, both of which are available only in the same small size. Players can add custom skins for pets, and custom meshes allow players to add new breeds. However, since Unleashed did not modify Create a Sim, players cannot create pets when creating a family.
Adopting a pet can help Sims at home, especially if they live alone. Dogs can bring the newspaper in every morning if trained, while cats can chase rabbits and gophers away from a vegetable patch. Pets don't necessarily need to be bought, though; if there are stray cats or dogs wandering around the neighborhood, and if a Sim makes friends with one, it can be adopted for free, although this can take time.
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 Sims pampering it all day.
Sims can buy cat collars from The Collar Purple and dog collars from the Canine Collar Contraption. To put a collar on a pet, the player will need to select a Sim that has a collar for that type of pet in his or her inventory, then click on the pet. An option to put the collar on the pet will appear.
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/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. A pet's actions cannot be canceled, but pets with at least three points in the Obedience skill can be told to stop what they're doing.
House Breaking
It takes time, but a pet needs to learn what it can and can't do. In the case of a dog, the first step is to teach it not to relieve itself in the house. Wait until the dog has to go (toilet thought bubble), step outside the house, and call it. The dog should come to the Sim and relieve itself outdoors. When this happens, praise the dog and give it a treat, so it knows it did well. If the dog relieves itself inside the house, scold it.
The proper use of "Praise" and "Scold" over time will teach a pet where to relieve its bladder, as well as keeping it out of certain rooms. Fortunately, cats will automatically use the litter box as long as there is one.
Fun note: dogs will often help "water" the plants in a vegetable garden. It can't be controlled by the player, but they'll tag along after a Sim while they're weeding and spontaneously make with the watering.
Breeding
To have more little bundles of fur running around the house, consider breeding pets. Just like 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 the player will be given the option to keep it or sell it.
Pet Shows
To participate in a pet show, take a pet 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 the player's Sim and ask if they want to enter the competition. Pets are judged according to their skills and their mood at the time, so make sure the 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, Sims can have small pets (womrats, birds, and fish), as well as dogs and cats. Pets added a Create a Pet feature to Create a Sim, so the player can create pets, and can set their personality, as well as their fur color and style. They have their own motives, learned behaviors, and Sims can teach them certain commands. A pet will have its own icon, and can be selected. The player can see the selected pet's action queue, but the icons will be gray and the player cannot cancel any of the actions or control the pet unless cheats are used.
Pets have three life stages: kitten or puppy, adult, and elder. Kittens and puppies are mobile, but must be carried up and down stairs. They cannot have jobs or learn commands, but they can learn behaviors. They cannot get on furniture or Sim beds, but can be praised for not doing those things, and can therefore be taught not to do them.
Like Sims, pets have eight motives that contribute to their overall mood. The Environment motive is replaced with Scratch (cats) and Chew (dogs). Puppies and kittens do not have the Chew or Scratch motives.
Sims can buy pet collars from the Collar Connection Display, but the player must choose whether the collar will be for a large dog, a small dog, or a cat. To put a collar on a pet, the player will need to select a Sim that has a collar for that type of pet in his or her inventory, click on a mirror, and choose the option to change the pet's appearance. Both the Sim and the pet will go to the mirror, and the player will be able to select any appropriate collar that the Sim has in inventory. The action will fail if the pet cannot get to the mirror, so the player may need to buy a full-length mirror and place it in an open area, so both the Sim and the pet will be able to get to the mirror. Of course, the mirror can be sold for its full price once the collar is on the pet.
Pets can be adopted by befriending a stray or by using the phone. There are pet stores in the Lots and Houses bin that can be placed in any neighborhood. These stores allow Sims to adopt adult cats and dogs, but not kittens and puppies.
While pets cannot see ghosts, they react strongly if they sense one.
Breeding
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 for 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. Players also have the options of keeping a pet's offspring, or selling them.
Cat and dog breeds
A complete list of pre-made breeds in The Sims 2: Pets:
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All cat breeds.
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Large dog breeds.
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All small dog breeds.
- Cats
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- Large Dogs
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- Small Dogs
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Differences between Unleashed and The Sims 2: Pets
There are a few differences between pets in Unleashed and in The Sims 2: 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, the player 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).
- In Pets, puppies and kittens can be viewed and can learn behaviors.
- In Pets, cats and dogs are able to have jobs. In Unleashed, cats and dogs can't get jobs.
- In Unleashed, pets can starve to death. In Pets, they will be taken away before they can starve.
Death
Like Sims, pets can die. However, there are not many ways for a pet to die.
Pets in The Sims: Unleashed can die of fire and starvation. Pets in The Sims 2: Pets can die of old age. They can also come back as ghosts and interact with Sim ghosts.
Pets in console versions of The Sims 2 Pets cannot die.
The Sims 3
EA has confirmed that The Sims 3: Pets is real, and will be released in Fall of 2011. The official trailer shows that the expansion pack will include:
These types of animals will all have unique traits and personalities. Unlike The Sims: Unleashed and The Sims 2: Pets, players will be able to control pets just like Sims.
The Sims 3: Pets also adds wild animals:
- Deer
- Raccoon
and minor pets:
- Birds: Blue Gold Macaw, Catalina Macaw, Cockatoo, Congo African Gray, Crow, Falcon, Spotted Sixam, Yellow Naped Amazon, Cardinal, Easter Bluebird, Gold finch, Lilac Breasted Roller, Nuthatch, Parakeet, Pigeon
- Lizards: Anole Lizard, Ancient Dragon, Gecko, Chameleon, Pygmy Komodo Dragon, Agama Lizard, Texas Spiny Lizard, Iguana
- Rodents: Chinchilla, Hedgehog, Squirrel, Rat, Shrew, Womrat, Chipmunk
- Snakes: Yellow Python, Garter Snake, Emerald Tree Boa Snake, Malayan Krait Snake, Yellow Chondro Python, Scarlet King Snake, San Francisco Garter Snake, Iridescent Shieldtail Snake, Mini Python
- Turtles: Barbours Map Turtle, Spotted Turtle, Eastern Box Turtle, Indian Roofed Turtle, Red Eared Slider Turtle, Pygmy Turtle, Spiny Turtle, Western Painted Turtle
- Ants farm
The Sims 3: Pets Breeds
List of pre-made breeds in The Sims 3: Pets:
72 Big Dog breeds:
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Afghan Hound |
Airedale Terrier |
Akita |
Alaskan Malamute |
| American Eskimo | American Foxhound | American Staffordshire Terrier | Australian Cattle Dog |
| Australian Shepherd | Bedlington Terrier | Bernese Mountain Dog | Black And Tan Coonhound |
| Bloodhound | Bluetick Coonhound | Border Collie | Borzoi |
| Boxer | Brittany | Bull Mastif | Canaan |
| Chesapeake Bay Retriever | Chow Chow | Chow Lab Mix | Collie |
| Curly Coated Retriever | Dalmatian | Dingo | Doberman Pinscher |
| English Foxhound | English Setter | English Springer Spaniel | Field Spaniel |
| German Shepherd | German Shorthair Pointer | Giant Schnauzer | Golden Doodle |
| Golden Retriever | Great Dane | Great Pyrenees | Greyhound |
| Ibizan Hound | Irish Red and White Setter | Irish Setter | Irish Terrier |
| Irish Wolfhound | Keesho(u)nd | Kerry Blue Terrier | Labradinger |
| Labradoodle | Mastiff | Newfoundland | Norsk Elk Shepherd |
| Old English Sheepdog | Otterhound | Parson Russell Terrier | Pharaoh Hound |
| Pit Bull Terrier | Pointer | Polish Lowland Sheepdog | Poodle |
| Redbone Coonhound | Rhodesian Ridgeback | Rottweiler | Saint Bernard |
| Samoyed | Siberian Husky | Staffordshire Bull Terrier | Tibetan Mastiff |
| Vizsla | Weimaraner | Welsh Springer Spaniel | Wheaten Terrier |
46 Small Dog breeds:
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Basenji |
Beagle |
Bichon Frise |
Black Russian Terrier |
| Bocker | Boston Terrier | Bull Dog | Bull Terrier |
| Cardigan Welsh Corgi | Cavalier King Charles Spaniel | Chihuahua | Cocker Spaniel |
| Dachshund | English Cocker Spaniel | English Toy Spaniel | French Bulldog |
| Havanese | Highland Terrier | Italian Greyhound | Jack Russel Terrier |
| Mini Schnauzer | Miniature Pinscher | Papillon | Parson Russell Terrier |
| Pekingese | Penbroke Welsh Corgi | Pitbull | Pomeranian |
| Poodle | Pug | Puggle | Schipperke |
| Schnoddle | Scottisch Terrier | Shetland Sheepdog | Shiba Inu |
| Shih Tzu | Silky Terrier | Smooth Fox Terrier | Staffordshire Bull Terrier |
| Standard Schnauzer | Toy Fox Terrier | West Highland Terrier | Whippet |
| Wire Fox Terrier | Yorkshire Terrier |
46 Cat breeds:
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Abyssianian |
American Bobtail |
American Longhair |
American Shorthair |
| American Wirehair | Balinese | Bengal | Birman |
| Black Cat | Bombay | Bristish Longhair | British Shorthair |
| Burmese | Calico | Chartreux | Colorpoint Shorthair |
| Cornish Rex | Devon Rex | Egyptian Mau | German Rex |
| Havana Brown | Himalyan | Japanese Bobtail | Javanese |
| Korat | Kurilian Bobtail | La Perm | Maine Coon |
| Manx | Norwegian Forest | Ocicat | Oriental |
| Oriental Shorthair | Persian | Ragdoll | Russian Blue |
| Savannah | Scottish Fold | Shorthair Tabby | Siamese |
| Siberian | Singapura | Somali | Tonkinese |
| Turkish Angora | Tuxedo |
30 Horse breeds:
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Akhal-Teke |
American Quarter Horse |
American Standardbred |
Andalusian |
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Anglo Arab |
Appaloosa |
Arabian |
Australian Stock Horse |
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Barb |
British Warmblood |
Clydesdale |
Friesan |
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Gelderlander |
Gypsy Vanner | Hanoverian | Holstein |
| Irish Draught | Lipizzaner | Lusitano | Morgan |
| Mustang | Paint | Palomino | Pinto |
| Salerno | Selle Francais | Shire Horse | Thoroughbred |
| Trakehner | Welsh Cob |
Trivia
- The Sims 3: Pets is going to be the first Sims PC "pet" game in which players can control pets without having to enter a cheat.
- Though, in The Sims Pet Stories there is an story reward object with which you can control pets (in this case pets can interact with other pets, sims and objects).
- This is most likely the only way to control pets without using cheats or mods.