| The Sims 4: Cats & Dogs | |
|---|---|
| Create a variety of cats and dogs, add them to your Sims’ homes to forever change their lives, and care for neighborhood pets as a vet. | |
| Development | |
| Developer(s) | Maxis, The Sims Studio |
| Publisher(s) | Electronic Arts |
| Series | The Sims |
| Release date(s) | November 10, 2017 (Worldwide) July 31, 2018 (console) |
| Technical information | |
| Platform(s) | Windows, macOS, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
| Media | DVD or Digital (PC), Digital-only (Mac) |
| Game features | |
| Genres | Life simulation |
| Themes | Pets |
| Creatures | Cat, Dog, Raccoon, Fox |
| Worlds | Brindleton Bay |
The Sims 4: Cats & Dogs is the fourth expansion pack for The Sims 4.[1] It was announced on August 21, 2017, at Gamescom and was released worldwide on November 10, 2017. The console version was released on July 31, 2018. It is a spiritual successor to The Sims: Unleashed, The Sims 2: Pets, and The Sims 3: Pets. The expansion reintroduces cats, dogs, raccoons, and foxes as well as new features such as a vet clinic business that Sims can experience in the new world of Brindleton Bay.
Official description[]
Life is better with Cats & Dogs. Create a variety of cats and dogs, add them to your Sims’ homes to forever change their lives, and care for neighborhood pets as a veterinarian with The Sims™ 4 Cats & Dogs. The powerful new Create A Pet tool lets you personalize cats and dogs, each with their unique appearances, distinct behaviors, and for the first time, expressive outfits! These wonderful, lifelong companions will change your Sims’ lives in new and special ways. Treat animal ailments as a veterinarian and run your clinic in a beautiful coastal world where there’s so much for your Sims and their pets to discover.
Create cats and dogs. Use the powerful Create A Pet tool to customize your Sims’ perfect cats, dogs, puppies, and kittens. Choose from a variety of breeds, give them distinct personalities, and directly manipulate their features. Easily personalize their coats with unique patterns to create your real-life pets, dream pets, or something more fanciful. For the first time, complete their looks with expressive outfits and accessories.
Bond with your pets. Experience the companionship and fun that furry friends bring to your Sims’ lives. Cats and dogs have minds of their own and form special relationships with Sims based on their daily interactions. Your Sims care for, train, and play games with their pets who all exhibit distinct and sometimes bizarre animal behaviors.
Become a vet and run a clinic. Build a veterinary clinic, hire a dedicated staff, and further your career as the town’s most promising animal doctor. You’re in control of daily operations from the services offered to what you charge. Your Sims can diagnose and cure pets with critical surgeries or treat fleas and other afflictions with simple medications.
Explore Brindleton Bay. Discover the coastal shores of Brindleton Bay, a new world where your Sims and their pets can live and enjoy outdoor activities. Play fetch near the harbor docks, take a walk to the lighthouse, or visit a park to set up an obstacle course, and meet other pet-loving locals. Be on the lookout for stray pets that your Sims can take in as their own to live with and care for.
New features[]
World and neighborhoods[]
The Sims 4: Cats & Dogs includes Brindleton Bay, a brand new world that is based on typical New England seafront towns. It is a big coastal town surrounded by beaches and various pets related activities. Brindleton Bay includes four neighborhoods—Sable Square, Whiskerman's Wharf, Cavalier Cove and Deadgrass Isle. It has a total of 16 lots.
Cats and dogs[]
Sims interacting with cats and dogs.
In Cats & Dogs, Sims can own cats and dogs as pets, which is the main feature of the expansion pack. Unlike previous games, pets cannot be controlled by the player, similar to The Sims 2: Pets, no cheat will allow the player to do so. Sims can interact with these pets in various form of ways such as feeding, playing, and training, and can bond with them through these interactions.
Both pets have three life stages; kitten/puppy, adult, and elder. They will live through these life stages like normal Sims, but much shorter. Pets can also die, but only from old age. Both cats and dogs can have three different pet traits, which are unique to them and are not available to Sims. These traits control the pets' actions and reactions toward the surrounding world. Some traits have unique attributes for one of the two species, but most traits are identical to one another. After the pet ages into an elderly cat/dog, they will live for an additional 6 to 11 Sim days before dying of old age.
Cats and dogs can be created with Create a Pet, and there are many pre-made breeds for them. Players will be able to customize their pets' appearance and even make their breeds. Create a Pet borrows the same click-and-drag mechanic from Create a Sim, making players able to sculpt and mold their pets to have more details and features.
Vet clinics[]
A veterinarian taking care of a dog.
The Sims 4: Cats & Dogs also introduces a brand new feature to the series, which is vet clinics. They are a lot of types of businesses that Sims can own. Cats and dogs can now have various types of illnesses, that can be easily cured by veterinarians. They are treated with different types of medicine and in serious situations with a surgery station, that can also neuter and un-neuter pets.
Sims can now learn the veterinarian skill, which is essential to running a vet clinic. Vet clinics are handled similarly to restaurants from Dine Out, as customers have a rating system that determines the vet clinics' overall star rating. Pets are treated on exam tables and require some amount of research to diagnose the disease, before treating them with the appropriate medicine. The pets also have a stress bar to showcase to the player their current level of stress. Treating pets successfully can rise the overall rating of the clinic.
New additions[]
- New Objects
-
- Cat condos
- Food bowls
- Food stalls
- Litter boxes
- Medicine vending machine
- Mouse hole
- Pet exam table
- Pet obstacle courses
- Pet surgery station
- Pet toy box
- Robot vacuum
- Scratching posts
- Vet crafting table
- New Traits
-
- Animal Affection (Bonus Trait for the Animal aspiration)
- Relationships with animals begin at higher values.
- Animal Whisperer (Reward Trait for Friend of the Animals aspiration)
- It is easier to Train and Discipline animals as well as gain relationship with them faster.
- These Sims tend to make cats their companions, preferring the company of cats to other Sims.
- These Sims love to be near dogs. They will gain relationships faster with dogs and socialize with dogs more than the average Sim.
- New Lot Traits
-
- Breeding Grounds
- Cat Friendly
- Cat Hangout
- Dog Friendly
- Dog Hangout
- Training Ground
- New Radio Station
-
- Singer-Songwriter
- New Aspiration
-
- Friend of the Animals (Animal) - This Sim wants to be friends with the animals.
- Acquaintance of the Animals - Have a pet in your household · Be friends with 1 animal · Be friendly with animals 12 times
- Friend of the Animals - Be friends with 5 animals · Be companions with 1 animal · Successfully train out 2 misbehaviors
- Best Friend of the Animals - Be companions with 2 animals · Feel the love 5 times · Successfully train out 4 misbehaviors
- BFF of the Animals - Play with 2 different ghost pets · Feel the love with 8 different pets · Be friends with 12 animals at the same time
- Reward trait: Animal Whisperer - It is easier to Train and Discipline animals as well as gain relationship with them faster.
- Friend of the Animals (Animal) - This Sim wants to be friends with the animals.
- New Food Stall Recipes
- These recipes can be made at any level but need to be eaten first, by ordering at food stalls in Brindleton Bay, to unlock.
- Lobster Roll
- Haddock Sandwich
- Seafood Chowder
- Popcorn Shrimp
- New Collectibles
-
- Feathers
- Plants
- Catnip
- Madnip
- Napnip
- Nuzzlenip
- Other New Features
Integrations[]
The following list shows how several existing packs integrate with The Sims 4: Cats & Dogs:
- Besides in Brindleton Bay, Stray pets can be roaming around in Selvadorada.
- Spellcaster Sims can bind their pets as familiars.
- Property owners of residential rentals can set a unit's rule with "No Pets" from their tenant agreement. Having tenants with pets present in their household unit will violate their tenant rule.
- Tenants will partake the Pet Adoption Drive event, which stray pets will roam around the unit for tenants to pet them and have opportunity to adopt pets inside the unit.
Price[]
Cats & Dogs was priced at $39.99 USD and £29.99 GBP at launch, the same as the original pricing of an expansion pack for The Sims 3. Expansion pack prices for The Sims 4 are intended to be similar to prices for The Sims 3 expansion packs in most locations.
Trivia[]
- With Cats & Dogs, players can create foxes and raccoons in Create a Pet. They are considered breeds for dogs and cats, respectively, but with optional different voices.[2] Foxes later appeared as NPCs in Cottage Living.
- Contrary to all previous pet-themed expansion packs, Cats & Dogs did not include small pets. Rodents and hedgehogs were later included in The Sims 4: My First Pet Stuff.
- Brindleton Bay has a premade same-sex couple, the Hecking family.
- Unlike The Sims 3: Pets, pets are not controllable and unlike The Sims 2: Pets, there is no cheat to make them controllable.
- However, there is a mod that can make them controllable and see their needs and family trees. Albeit in an incomplete state (most moodlets and traits lack icons or text while many interactions have duplicated names).
- This mod only changes a few lines of code, showing that at one point pets were planned to be controllable by the player or were used for debugging purposes.
- The Sims 4: Cats & Dogs is the only expansion pack which was released physically for console in Australia. It was bundled with the base game for PS4 and Xbox One and released on a single disc combining the two games together.
Gallery[]
Music[]
Alternative[]
- Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness - Walking in My Sleep
- Baio - The Key Is Under The Mat
- Middle Kids - Mistake
Pop[]
- Grace VanderWaal - Moonlight
- Hey Violet - All We Ever Wanted
- Josephina - Woosah
- Cailin Russo - Famous
- Saving Forever - Always In My Mind
Singer-Songwriter[]
- Gordi - On My Side
- Jade Bird - Something American
- Van William - Cosmic Sign
- Jenny O. - Cheer Up Free Your Mind
- The Shoaks - Zoe Bwoozip
References[]
Dates featured: November 2018.
| "The Sims" Chronology | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by The Sims 4: Toddler Stuff August 24, 2017 |
The Sims series PC games | Followed by The Sims 4: Laundry Day Stuff January 16, 2018 |
| Preceded by The Sims 4: City Living November 1, 2016 |
The Sims 4 expansion packs | Followed by The Sims 4: Seasons June 22, 2018 |
| The Sims series expansion packs | ||
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