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Should I get Pets? (Cats & Dogs)

sketchessketches Posts: 274 Member
Hi all,

Still haven't played with Pets Cats & Dogs on TS4 yet... but I'm really thinking about trying it out during this sale. Here are my questions, to start:

- Do NPC families/townies and inactive families autonomously get pets?
- Do pets generate with crazy patterns/proportions and wacky clothing?
- What's the oddest "townie" pet you've seen?
- Is the "pets disappearing glitch" only if you have Eco Lifestyle?
- Anything else you want to share before getting the Pets Cats & Dogs EP?

Thanks ♥

Edit: I mean the Cats & Dogs EP :lol: SORRY!

Edit 2: All of you have been so very helpful with your answers! (It's also great to see none of you have experienced your pets disappearing. I keep reading about that on the bug forums, and it's been turning me off.) But maybe it's not as big of a deal after all. Thank you each!
Origin ID: sketchur
Sims 3 MyPage: https://mypage.thesims3.com/mypage/sketches

#FixThePersonalities
Post edited by sketches on

Comments

  • Vivi_WillowTreeVivi_WillowTree Posts: 451 Member
    1. No
    2. Not that I've ever seen
    3. Major Whiskers (that tophat is adorable not weird)
    4. Can't answer this one. My daughter hasn't played in awhile.
    5. When I was playing I loved the small dogs and cats because they're so little and cute (no offense big dogs). The raccoon and fox are neat. My only thing is that you can't see what's wrong with them just like babies. They always seemed unhappy and scared of everything no matter what trait they had.
  • texxx78texxx78 Posts: 5,657 Member
    1. No
    2. Never seen nothing like that
    3. The ghost dog that lives in the pet cemetery. He only hangs there afer midnight so if you wish you won't ever see him. You can also delete him in the household manager.
    4. I have Eco Lifestyle and my pets never disappeared (i don't use mods)
    5. Playing with pets raises fun super quickly, almost like woohooing. They also diminish the effects of tense and sad moodlets.
  • mustenimusteni Posts: 5,403 Member
    1. No
    2. No
    3. A huge poodle like thing, but ugly. It's the only stay I haven't liked though.
    4. I have eco lifestyle and didn't notice my pets disappearing, it's possible I didn't play households with pets long enough
    5. It's one of my least favourite packs, but I still play with pets from time to time. They're cute and also good company for sims who live alone. In a bigger household they often feel really needy and it can be hard to find time to keep them happy. I recommend experimenting with different traits because you can end up with very different pets.
  • Calico45Calico45 Posts: 2,038 Member
    1. No
    2. Not from what I have seen, but the strays are not always the most appealing if you care about appearances.
    3. Yeah, probably Mayor Whiskers or Whittaker the ghost dog, but I love them!
    4. I have Eco and have not noticed anything.
    5. As someone that has Pets as a make it or break it pack, this is the worst Pets pack in the series in my opinion. The pets look great, but they are incredibly shallow, take up a family slot as an NPC, and children cannot do simple things with them like bathe and walk them. Beyond the gameplay with them, they do not have proper developed relationships with anything other than Sims (no other pets), the breeding is frustrating, and even though we cannot control them it is ridiculous that we do not have some sort of info panel on them. I still play with them, but nothing like the other iterations. They really get ignored.
  • NikkihNikkih Posts: 1,758 Member
    edited July 2020
    I would say dont buy the pack thinking its exactly like pets from the previous games, theres is only cats & dogs, you dont control them, they are interactions that help your sim look after them but in my opinion it's not a terrible pack, theres a vet and vet career, the world is nice, build & buy and create a sim is good, I would say if you love animals and your saying you will be getting it in a sale, why not, some people like not being able too control the pets, I'm one of them lol
  • jimbbqjimbbq Posts: 2,734 Member
    Not a good pack. Cats are boring. Dogs have more gameplay but they get boring real quick. I much prefer a big collection of minor pets : rodent , birds, etc
  • simgirl1010simgirl1010 Posts: 35,708 Member
    I have a dog irl and had a cat and my sim family just didn't feel complete until cats and dogs were added. My pets in game don't do anything special. My Sims feed them, walk them, play with them, teach them tricks, and love them. Just like I do irl.
  • sketchessketches Posts: 274 Member
    edited July 2020
    kaylin205 wrote: »
    3. Major Whiskers (that tophat is adorable not weird)
    @kaylin205 OK, I'm already a huge fan of Major Whiskers and I haven't even seen/met him yet! :blush:

    telmarina wrote: »
    3. The ghost dog that lives in the pet cemetery. He only hangs there afer midnight so if you wish you won't ever see him. You can also delete him in the household manager.
    @telmarina Aww, this sounds awesome!
    Calico45 wrote: »
    5. As someone that has Pets as a make it or break it pack, this is the worst Pets pack in the series in my opinion. The pets look great, but they are incredibly shallow, take up a family slot as an NPC, and children cannot do simple things with them like bathe and walk them. Beyond the gameplay with them, they do not have proper developed relationships with anything other than Sims (no other pets), the breeding is frustrating, and even though we cannot control them it is ridiculous that we do not have some sort of info panel on them. I still play with them, but nothing like the other iterations. They really get ignored.
    @Calico45 This is very insightful — thanks.

    Y'all have been very helpful with your answers! I'm also happy to see none of you have experienced your pets disappearing. I keep reading about that on the bug forums, and it's been turning me off. But maybe it's not as big of a deal after all. Thank you each!

    Origin ID: sketchur
    Sims 3 MyPage: https://mypage.thesims3.com/mypage/sketches

    #FixThePersonalities
  • RavenSpitRavenSpit Posts: 1,387 Member
    1. Existing ones NO, but C&D comes with townies that have pets and if you become a vet new NPC with pets will be generated
    2. nope
    3. nothing really that odd
    4. I have Eco and some of my pets disappear regularly while others don't, not sure if the bug came with Eco or the patch before that
    5. like others mentioned you can't directly control your pets, so they are actually like pets, you have to take care of them and they in return lighten up the household imho. There are other perks depending on the pet's traits. Pets can be turned into familiars if you got ROM.
    I love them, but I just love having animals arround irl and in game, they don't have to do anything special for me.
    That said, dogs can be trained to attack other sims, which can be fun (one of my famous sims has her dog attack paparazzi and stans).

    so, I love the pack, but I would probly wait till the pet disappearing bug is solved before buying it.
    Gallery ID: ra7orrat

  • sketchessketches Posts: 274 Member
    edited July 2020
    RavenSpit wrote: »
    4. I have Eco and some of my pets disappear regularly while others don't, not sure if the bug came with Eco or the patch before that
    :( Hi, thanks for your answer. I just downloaded and installed Cats & Dogs today, but my cat disappeared right away when My Sim picked him up. Luckily, I already saved the game, and re-loaded in, and was able to play a bit longer .... before the cat disappeared again. Poof. Yikes. I didn't expect to be posting this, especially after everyone in this thread was saying they're not experiencing it.

    How do you get your pets back?

    Edit: LOL I just invited my disappeared pet to Hang Out at Current Lot. He responded, "I'll be right over," and showed up at the front of the lot. That's adorable! :smiley:
    Origin ID: sketchur
    Sims 3 MyPage: https://mypage.thesims3.com/mypage/sketches

    #FixThePersonalities
  • Vivi_WillowTreeVivi_WillowTree Posts: 451 Member
    A patch is coming out before the nitting pack so hopefully it'll get fixed. Horrid bug, poor pets. Do the sims get negative moods from the disappearing act?
  • sketchessketches Posts: 274 Member
    kaylin205 wrote: »
    A patch is coming out before the nitting pack so hopefully it'll get fixed. Horrid bug, poor pets. Do the sims get negative moods from the disappearing act?

    Mine doesn't. (That was a good question.) The pet just .... vanishes. BUT. His household profile icon appears to be "away," and he stays in my Sim's Relationships panel. I am playing this EP tonight, and the cat has disappeared at least 4 times by now... Each time, I just invite him back over! 😂 It's a cumbersome glitch, but it's a huge relief the pet isn't gone forever. Looking forward to a fix, too.
    Origin ID: sketchur
    Sims 3 MyPage: https://mypage.thesims3.com/mypage/sketches

    #FixThePersonalities
  • MareahMareah Posts: 792 Member
    Looks like we are on the same boat. I also got the pack when the sale began but havent been able to enjoy it yet because the cats i added vanish all the time, i stopped trying to get them everytime back but noticed if my sim is out they sometimes return with her. Good news a patch is coming so hopefully we will get to enjoy this pack soon.
  • Aquarius94Aquarius94 Posts: 505 Member
    edited July 2020
    - No
    - No
    - Honestly, I don't think I see too many spawned pets in my game. Definitely not outside of Brindleton Bay
    - This is actually my first time hearing of such a glitch.
    - "Anything else you want to share before getting the Pets Cats & Dogs EP" :

    At the expense of being a wet blanket again: It's...alright. Just alright.

    Much like almost everything in this game, it's a lot better if you're not comparing it to past pets expansions. But that's pretty hard to do considering how good Pets was for TS3. So I'm gonna consider that a strike against it because I'm so tired of "this thing is good as long as you don't look at the better thing right behind it"

    If I'm being honest, the only thing that makes it a must have pack for me is the beautiful world that comes with it. And I definitely wouldn't recommend this pack unless you have the control pets mod to go with it. I don't know what on earth they were thinking, taking that option away. The excuse they gave reeeeeally doesn't hold up. At all. I'm so thankful that mod released like...the same day the pack came out. I tried playing without being able to select my pets or look at their needs and it was an even bigger pain than the babies in this game. Because there is always something wrong with your pets.

    The pets are cute but not particularly fun without being able to play as them. The veternarian active career isn't fun at all (though that's how I've felt about every active career besides acting). It's kinda infuriating that they brought CASt back but only to design pets and nothing else. And, like someone already said, this pack is just cats and dogs. None of the really cool smaller pets that you could find in the wild and raise. This isn't the worst expansion pack for TS4 (that honor still goes to City Living). But you wouldn't be missing much by skipping out on it.
  • OnverserOnverser Posts: 3,364 Member
    edited July 2020
    As far as I'm aware, the game doesn't auto generate pets at all. A couple households in Brindleton have pets and there's a couple of built in stray/townie pets that walk around Brindleton but that's about it.

    Honestly as a pack I wouldn't recommend it at all, to put it simply there's nothing to do. Pets are just sort of there, they serve no purpose they just exist in the game. There isn't really anything to do with them, litter boxes are autonomous, feeding is autonomous, you can't really teach them anything and there's barely any socials involving pets. And outside of Brindleton they're non existent, none of the households have them by default and you won't see pets out and about ever.

    The strength of the pack is the world, which is my favorite Suburban type world. It's a really nice world and there's a lot of variety to it but otherwise the pack is nothing special. If you enjoyed playing with pets in past games you might enjoy these pets, but imo they're not fun to play with.
  • sketchessketches Posts: 274 Member
    edited July 2020
    YES! It's updated today!
    Cats & Dogs
    • We trained our Cats and Dogs extra hard so that they do not disappear from your Lots to others randomly. They are all good and best boys and girls, 15/10 will pet them all again.
    (More info)

    Onverser wrote: »
    As far as I'm aware, the game doesn't auto generate pets at all. A couple households in Brindleton have pets and there's a couple of built in stray/townie pets that walk around Brindleton but that's about it.

    Honestly as a pack I wouldn't recommend it at all, to put it simply there's nothing to do. Pets are just sort of there, they serve no purpose they just exist in the game. There isn't really anything to do with them, litter boxes are autonomous, feeding is autonomous, you can't really teach them anything and there's barely any socials involving pets. And outside of Brindleton they're non existent, none of the households have them by default and you won't see pets out and about ever.

    The strength of the pack is the world, which is my favorite Suburban type world. It's a really nice world and there's a lot of variety to it but otherwise the pack is nothing special. If you enjoyed playing with pets in past games you might enjoy these pets, but imo they're not fun to play with.

    Thank you, @Onverser your comment is very insightful!

    I am finding the same experience, now that I'm actually playing with the EP. :lol: That said, I certainly adore the world and befriending pets. Mayor Whiskers is my favorite so far. It's a shame they don't let you control pets.
    Origin ID: sketchur
    Sims 3 MyPage: https://mypage.thesims3.com/mypage/sketches

    #FixThePersonalities
  • Mariefoxprice83Mariefoxprice83 Posts: 8,106 Member
    edited July 2020
    I swore I would never get the pack after getting bored with pets in previous versions, and I disliked the fact that this time we couldn't control the pets, but I caved in during a moment of weakness this year when I needed something new to pique my interest. I wish we had more choice of pet beds I don't regret buying the pack and I don't mind not being able to control the pets after all. I like how low maintenance cats are but it can be tricky making sure multiple dogs get their walks in. I make sure not every household has a pet so I can play them when I want to but also get a break with other households. The world, the CAS items and the build/buy items are great. I haven't even seen as many sick pets as I was expecting to (thankfully).

    For me the worst thing is the fact that the collectibles spawn so often, especially the feathers. That's fine for some sims but at other times I get fed up with them. The frequency of skunk spraying is also a pain.
    Better to reign in Hell, than serve in Heaven.
  • SimmerGeorgeSimmerGeorge Posts: 2,724 Member
    Something you might want to know is that there are no pet houses and the pet beds and objects in general are pretty lacking. There is only a handful of things for pets and their beds are for some reason as thin as paper.
    I got Cats & Dogs on this sale too about a week ago and those are the things that really threw me off so far.
    Also there is no UI for the pets as far as I know so you don't know their age, can't look up their traits or when they have their birthday etc.
    But yeah for 20$ it's an okay pack not full price though.
    Where's my Sims 5 squad at?
  • SERVERFRASERVERFRA Posts: 7,108 Member
    They fixed the Cats & Dogs glitches with the July patch.
    The Cats & Dogs can be both a pet & a familiar if you have Realm of Magic.
  • mustenimusteni Posts: 5,403 Member
    I swore I would never get the pack after getting bored with pets in previous versions, and I disliked the fact that this time we couldn't control the pets, but I caved in during a moment of weakness this year when I needed something new to pique my interest. I wish we had more choice of pet beds I don't regret buying the pack and I don't mind not being able to control the pets after all. I like how low maintenance cats are but it can be tricky making sure multiple dogs get their walks in. I make sure not every household has a pet so I can play them when I want to but also get a break with other households. The world, the CAS items and the build/buy items are great. I haven't even seen as many sick pets as I was expecting to (thankfully).

    For me the worst thing is the fact that the collectibles spawn so often, especially the feathers. That's fine for some sims but at other times I get fed up with them. The frequency of skunk spraying is also a pain.

    Does you sim live in Windenburg or do you have the pee bushes on the lot? I've found that removing those makes the pets be sprayed by a skunk less often.
  • Mariefoxprice83Mariefoxprice83 Posts: 8,106 Member
    musteni wrote: »

    Does you sim live in Windenburg or do you have the pee bushes on the lot? I've found that removing those makes the pets be sprayed by a skunk less often.

    I wasn't playing in Windenberg but I had the bushes on several lots in the main save I've been playing since getting Cats and Dogs. I did notice that fewer gift boxes with feathers were spawned after I removed the bushes but I didn't notice whether the skunk spraying happened less often.
    Better to reign in Hell, than serve in Heaven.
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