Animal

Animal

A Sim with a dog

Animals and pets are features that appeared throughout the whole The Sims series.

The Sims

In The Sims, aquariums allowed Sims to own fish as pets. Pests were also introduced in the form of flies. Flies will appear over dirty plates and piles of trash. "Free-range flies" may also appear on dirty lots, and will roam around the house freely. These flies are not harmful, but when they are in a room, they reduce its Room score.

If Unleashed is installed, dogs will sometimes jump and snap at "free range" files, but cannot get rid of them. "Free range" flies can be picked up and sold in Buy or Build mode if the move_objects on cheat is enabled. Oddly, they're labeled as the "SSRI Virtual Reality Set" and worth 460 Simoleons.

The Sims: Livin' Large

A Sim freaking out over cockroaches in Living Large

Cockroaches were the second animals appearing in the franchise. In Livin' Large, having roaches on a lot can cause considerable distraction, as Sims and visitors may autonomously "Freak Out", neglecting their motives in order to go stomp on roaches on the other side of the lot. However, roaches can easily be killed by instructing a Sim to spray them. If the Sim instructed to spray them is in a good mood, they will automatically spray every group of roaches on the lot, until there are no more roaches left or their motives drop too low.

Sims on the lot will try their best to get rid of them, as well as maids, Bonehilda and the Servo, if any was present. If Unleashed is installed, cats may attempt to hunt them, but will only do so autonomously. However, they will still gain the hunting skill. Once killed, roaches disappear and leave no trace of their existence. Roaches in The Sims can pass through walls, and so may be able to get to places that Sims can't.

Livin' Large also introduced guinea pigs as pets, and included mallard ducks and frogs produced from the water-based plants. These animals are tied to the objects that produce them, and cannot roam around the lot freely.

The Sims: Hot Date

The first wild animal introduced in the franchise was Claire the Bear, a bear who was introduced in The Sims: Hot Date. She occasionally wanders onto the lot being played, and although she means no harm, she often roots around in the trashcan, and looks for food in it, waking up all the Sims in the house. She will also interact with, or at least react to, the Buster O'Beast stuffed bear and the bearskin rug, and may attempt to steal partially-filled jars of honey from the beehive.

A larger aquarium was introduced in this expansion pack, featuring an octopus, jellyfish, and a ray. A koi pond allowed Sims to feed pond fish outside of an aquarium.

The Sims: Unleashed

Pets were first introduced in The Sims: Unleashed, which Sims can adopt and have as a new addition to the family. Stray pets may occasionally appear on the lot or around the neighborhood being played, and can be adopted if a Sim builds a high relationship with them, also Sims can buy them at the Pet store, which is much more easier. Pet store adopted pets will automatically have a 50 mutual daily relationship points with their adopter, while other members of the family will have to work on their relationship with them.

Birds came with this expansion pack such as Cockatoos, Parrots, Love Birds, and Pet Budgies. Love Birds and Pet Budgies are pet store exclusives, and cost §59 and §35 respectively, while Cockatoos and Parrots can be obtained from Buy Mode. Other small pets include iguanas, turtles, and goldfish for the small tabletop fishbowls.

The Pleasant family and their pets in The Sims Unleashed

Also, new wild animals came with the new gardening system in Unleashed. When a Sim has a vegetable patch with crops in it, especially carrots, the lot is likely to be visited by rabbits and gophers, which can quickly destroy the garden. The only way of getting rid of them is by buying a cat or using a scarecrow to scare them off.

Raccoons can also appear, but they aren't as troublesome. Like Claire the Bear, raccoons like to paw around in the trashcan, waking the Sims in the dead of night. Sims can shoo raccoons or call Animal Control to humanely remove them before they get into the garbage. Another possible solution is to get a dog, which may or may not chase El Bandito away. The skunk is another visitor, and although it doesn't wake up Sims, it can spray them if they go to pet it, which will drop their hygiene down to zero. Pets can get sprayed as well if they go to investigate the. The skunk will leave after a few days, but Sims can phone Animal Control to have the skunk humanely removed from the property for §30.

The Sims: Superstar

The Sims: Superstar introduced the Aquatic Playhouse that featured clownfish, lionfish, jellyfish, and a small shark, among other aquatic animals. Sims are able to dive in the tank and swim with these creatures.

The Sims: Makin' Magic

In The Sims: Makin' Magic, there is a spell named Toadification that temporarily turns a Sim into a toad. However it's rather dangerous, since it's stated that since the mayor's wife was caught kissing one, toads were run out of SimCity and are declared illegal (even though it's not in some areas, don't let people catch the Sim casting the spell). Besides the toad, if one of the spells backfires, there is a chance that the Sim will be swarmed by snakes and freak out. However, toads and snakes do not appear unless summoned or created by magic. Also, Sims should be extra careful using this spell if they have Dragons, since they enjoy eating toads, and that will cause the Sim transformed to die.

The three dragons available in Makin' Magic, from left to right: Burnie, Torch and Pyritie

Dragons are also types of pets available in The Sims: Makin' Magic. Dragon eggs cost 49 MagiCoins, and are available from Vicki Vampiress in Magic Town, where dragon treats and toys can also be bought. There are three colors of the dragons, red, gold and purple, and named Burnie, Pyritie, and Torch respectively. The color of a dragon depends on how the Sim interacts with it. Dragons eat flowers around the lot, especially yellow daffodils. They may also eat spoiled food and trash piles. Toads are a special Dragon delicacy, so when Sims have a Dragon, they should be extra careful using the Toadification spell if they want to see their neighbors again.

The Sims 2

In The Sims 2, flies and cockroaches are pests. Flies signify rotten food and although harmless by themselves can swarm in great numbers and kill Sims with death by flies. Cockroaches only appear if there is a great mess in the vicinity. Sims will autonomously try to squash cockroaches, earning a bad memory, triggering the cockroach fear, and the Sim might get sick. Sims can spray cockroaches to get rid of them, but the best thing to do is to call the exterminator.

Sims can obtain fish by buying an aquarium. There are not many interactions with fish; just 'Stock', then 'Feed', 'Clean Tank', and 'Watch'.

In the neighborhood view, there are also certain birds and ducks that players can place as decorations.

The Sims 2: Pets

Pets and their owners in The Sims 2: Pets

Cats and dogs arrived as the main feature in The Sims 2: Pets and are the most versatile animals. They can be created in CAS just like a Sim and can be assigned a personality. They also have a motive panel, memories, can learn commands and behaviors. (For example, a cat sitting on a kitchen counter can be praised or scolded by a Sim, which will affect the likelihood of the action being repeated.) However, they are not directly controllable, although if a pet is taught a certain command, a Sim can later command them to do an activity related to that command. For example, a pet that knows the Come command can be told to go inside/outside.

Players can also buy womrats (guinea pigs), parrots, and fish. However, they are not members of the family like dogs and cats are, and they have very limited customization.

Skunk can also be found in Pets. They can be petted, watched or shooed, although the skunk will spray Sims if they try the first two. A skunk may also spray pets.

The Sims 2: Seasons

In Seasons, penguins made an appearance, and can sometimes appear on the lot, mostly in winter, or if there are fish on the lot. A Sim can either 'Pet' or 'Shoo' a penguin, but the penguin will do other things on the lot, such as slide in the snow, eat fish on the ground and talk to snowmen.

Also in Seasons, Sims have the ability to catch butterflies in the daytime and fireflies at night. Once they are caught, the only interaction that is possible with them is 'Release'. Sims also can catch fish and can gain talent badges for fishing.

The Sims 2: Freetime

In FreeTime, part of the Nature hobby allows Sims to catch a variety of species of spiders, beetles and butterflies. Bugs caught can be viewed in the Sim's bug collection. Sometimes, while a Sim is catching bugs, he or she may be chased by bees. There is also Ant farm that sims call watch at ants and play with them

The Sims 2: Apartment Life

In Apartment Life another small pet, a toy dog, is added. Players can buy an indoor dog pen to get one. The interactions are about the same as a womrat's or parrot's.

The Sims 3

In The Sims 3 base game, fish and insects are included and Sims can collect and keep them as small pets. Also, bears can maul Sims that enter the mausoleum.

Another small addition is the birds that sometimes might fly across the sky in "V" shapes. The birds are mainly for show, the player cannot do anything with them.

The Sims 3: Late Night

The visual effect of pigeons was included in The Sims 3: Late Night and can be sometimes seen in Bridgeport. It may be created using fog emitter.

The Sims 3: Pets

Animals are featured in the expansion pack, The Sims 3: Pets, as well as a new pet, horses. Not only are there horses but a new collection of cats, dogs, lizards, turtles, snakes and birds. There are also NPC animals such as deer, skunks, and raccoons. Horses, cats and dogs are fully controllable, just as Sims.

A unicorn is also one of the additions in Pets. The unicorn is indeed magical, and can create or put out fires. In order to add one to an active family, the player will need to befriend the unicorn. Unicorns only come out during the night, and leave in early hours of the morning.

The Sims 3: Island Paradise

Sharks are added in the The Sims 3: Island Paradise expansion pack. There are 4 types of shark in diving areas, which are the Blacktip Reef Shark, Tiger Shark, Lemon Shark, and Great White Shark. There is a chance for a Sim to get attacked by one of them if they are in the same Diving area as the Sim, and if that happens it might result in the Sim's death if he or she loses to the shark in a fight. Therefor, it would be wise to have your Sims with high Athletic, Martial Arts or Scuba Diving skill as possible before having the Sim dive in a dangerous spots surrounded by these animals. If the Sim doesn't have the following skills, the player can direct the scuba diver to hide in a nearby cave, saving them from the possibly fatal attack If he or she manages to enter it in time. Sims with the Loves to Swim trait have better odds to win the fight. If the Sim wins against the shark, they will receive a shark tooth and get the "Pumped" moodlet.

There are two more hostile animals introduced, the Kraken and The Cave Monster, but unlike the shark - they cannot kill a Sim. A Kraken has a rare chance of spawning and a rare chance to attack a sim on a boat, destroying it. A Sim with the "Friend of the Kraken" Lifetime reward can direct the monster to attack other Sims/boats. The Cave Monster is found in one of the Underwater caves, which also has a chance to attack a Sim that enters the cave.

The Sims 3: Store

It's possible that a seal attacks a Sim when the Surf's Up Sun & Fun Wave Station is placed in any kind of natural water, which causes the "Almost A Meal" moodlet.

The Sims 4

There are fish, frogs, space creatures, and insects that Sims can collect and keep as pets in The Sims 4.

A bear can maul Sims that travel through the Sylvan tree or the bramble patch.

The Sims 4: Outdoor Retreat

Several wildlife animals, such as chipmunks and woodpeckers, can be seen in Granite Falls. The player cannot interact with them, however.

There is a costume that resembles a bear.

The Sims 4: Get Together

There are decorative pigeons in the city of Windenburg. Decorative sheep can be seen in the distant countryside.

The Sims 4: Vampires

There are decorative bats and crows around Forgotten Hollow. Bats can also transform Sims into vampires.

The Sims 4: Cats & Dogs

Dogs and cats return in this expansion pack, as well as foxes and raccoons. Decorative cows can be seen in the farmland background in Brindleton Bay.

The Sims 4: Jungle Adventure

Selvadorada is a host of many types of exotic animals, such as parakeets, snakes, crocodiles, iguanas, spiders, bees, and bats.