Small pets in the catalog, cats, dogs, even the fishtanks, whatever.

I personally like the fishtanks and cats The birds are really cute too, provided you have the mod that stops the autonomous playing/leaving the cage door open ...
My least favorite are definitely womrats. I'm not a rodent person in real life either

I've never seen a womrat die no matter how long I play and no matter how much my sim neglects it. I think they are immortal....

btw my favorite pets are dogs though I'm a cat person in real life. I feel there's more to do with dogs in the game and there's less items they need.

I play apartments a lot, and I found out that having a bird cage on an outside patio is not a good idea..when you play another unit. The bird won't be accessible to your sim, being in another unit, but still alive enough for your sim to see it die away...lol
The game seems to see the bird as available for motives decay, but there is nothing you can do about it. (besides visiting that unit and feed, clean etc..the cage)
Lesson learned, no bird cage outside on an enclosed patio.
See pic attached, maybe I was not clear..
I think the wormrat not dying is a mod. not sure though. I rarely buy one...
Otherwise, I like both dogs and cats equally in this game.

I like both dogs and cats, but lean a bit more towards cats. Birds are also good. They can raise Charisma. I think it's the only way for children to do so, and it makes more sense for shy Sims to talk to a bird than practice speech in a mirror.

Wow, I had no idea this was a thing!! Will keep that in mind :O

Dogs are my absolute favorite. They love to play fetch, get belly rubs and greet the mailman.
Cats are also cool, especially if they are toilet trained. I love how you can pick them up and give them a snuggle, and how they take care of cleaning themselves.

My least favorite, the womrat. Only once have my Sims owned one. I don't remember much about it, except that it wasn't terribly exciting.

I looove womrats, AKA guinea pigs, in real life (I have 2 right now and they are my babies, my furry daughters ), so I have a soft spot for them in game. I sometimes end up talking to them through the screen in the same voice I use for my real guinea pigs! But my favourite catalogue pets are definitely the fish, I use those fish tanks EVERYWHERE. Although the poor fish themselves usually have a 2 day shelf life because I always forget to feed them.

My favourite "big" pets are dogs (just like real life!). I think they're a particularly good pet for single households and loner sims. I love that you can take them on walks, and make kind of a routine with them. I also like them for widowed elder sims. I'm not really a big fan of how they look in game though, same with TS3. I don't think dogs have ever been done justice in the Sims! Whereas I think the cats mostly look a lot nicer. Cats I tend to get for larger families because I find them lower maintenance, mainly due to the fact they're smaller in size so have way less pathing issues!

But after all that, despite the fact I love animals IRL more than I love anything else in the whole world, I'm not really that keen to buy them for my sims! I'm not sure why. I think because they often end up being just nuisances and I like to focus on my human sims more than anything.

I always thought the opposite! I thought cats look less realistic than dogs..
As for wormrat (for you it is a guinea pig, for me it is a big hamster..lol) I would buy them more often, but they wake up sims when put in their bedrooms..and that's where I would want them to be. My sim children often roll wants for one, and their bedroom would be the perfect place. I've heard(read) about a mod to stop noise from waking up sims? i think made by Squinge...maybe I should get it...or use my invisible great divider..(duh!!) lol

I'm a total dog person in real life and for the game. So, that would be my fave. However, I try and keep things a little balanced in the game by making use of all pet options.

about Charisma for Child; there are also 4 career rewards. 2 in base game (Business & Politics) and 2 in Seasons (Law & Education).

favorite pet; I do not yet have Pets expansion.
in real life, I am more of a cat person than a dog person; my family has had a number of both throughout the years.
most of my sims would probably get cats when I get the expansion.

when I had Sims1; did have Unleashed. more buying of cats than of dogs.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned it yet. I hate the dog pen-dog from AL. It is by far the saddest most depressing item Maxis created. Why Maxis why. Pets already existed when you made AL, so why on earth did you not make the pen compatible with Pets functions so the poor thing could be let out of the pen when you want it to be...

I love all pets. I rarely use aquariums these days, but lots of wormrats, birds, cats and dogs of all sizes. I also use bienchen83's additional cages with other rodents and lizards. I love pets in real life, have had heaps of guinea pigs and rabbits, and this summer we got our fourth dog (two are in doggie heaven, so not four at once). Game would feel very empty without pets. I am especially prone to give Sim kiddies who are interested in pets a pet of their own when they become children. One of my core family Sims has been going around with a wormrat cage in her inventory for two rotations, waiting for a suitable niece of nephew to show they'd like one. She bought it herself at the pet store, and I often make guests controllable at birthday parties and find a gift for the birthday girl/boy in their inventory. I interpret what they buy in the background as visitors on businesses as things they intend to give as gifts.

(Apparently I forgot to press send, so someone may have mentioned AL dog pen since I wrote this)

I forgot about the career rewards. To be fair, you need to have a Sim with that career to get access to them. Or cheats.

As for whether my Sims get cats or dogs - I take a number of things into factor. Apartments only allows cats and small dogs, and I try to keep large dogs to bigger residential lots (I once tried to three big dogs into an apartment on the Tech Terrace, and that was a nightmare).

If a Sim rolls a want for specifically a kitten or puppy and they're in a place to get a pet I'll do that. If they roll a generic pet want, I usually just go by my gut feeling whether they're a cat or dog person.

A lot of my Sims autonomously buy pets and bring them home (I actually like this, although I can see how it frustrates other people) so when that happens I let the generator decide and work the story around it. One example: Malcolm Landgraab ended up with a female elderly dog and I made up a backstory about it being his childhood pet.

My favourites are the cats, mostly because I'm a crazy cat lady in real life. I like the dogs too, but they tend to pee on the floor a lot and having to bath them is annoying, plus I don't have much interest in teaching them tricks. The cats are just adorable (and look way better than TS3 cats), and the way they sometimes knead the bed with their paws before curling up to go to sleep just kills me :lovestruc

Least favourite is probably the birds. Birds and womrats are both pretty boring, but the birds annoy me more because I have to keep a close eye on my sims all the time, otherwise they leave the cage door open and it ends up flying all over the house.

@a_az13_a - I haven't a link, but I think on Plumbob Keep there's some puddles/rock pools that dogs can roll around in to get clean.

Yeah, the dog pen is dumb. It would be awesome if it could be modded to act as a puppy pen or something though. Let the big pets walk around but keep the little ones contained

My favourite are cats, I don't like birds. They're too noisy and they seem to die all the time. I don't mind them leaving the door open though, it's quite funny, but probably only because I rarely let my sims have one.

I do wish wormrats would die after a certain amount of time. Maybe a sim week? I wouldn't mind having them around as a short lived kids' pet but they just go on for ever and ever, and I feel mean ignoring them so that they die.

Maybe I ought to instigate a kind of life span for those small pets...

I downloaded the huge assortment of lizards, turtles etc which were here on MTS a while ago, they are pretty fun.

Ugh, totally agree. I've tried to block out the fact that thing even exists. Why, oh why did you have to mention it.

If it wasn't for the fact that my Sims sometimes roll wants for it, I wouldn't even care about the dog pen. It's sad and cruel. I like the idea of modding it to a puppy pen though, especially if it could drain any pee puddles.

Any Sim of mine that rolls a want for the pen (has not happened to date) is going to be thoroughly ignored. That thing makes me want to go find a animal rights protest just so I can get some of the anger out. Why Maxis WHY! (Sorry Penelope!) If ever I reach Chris Hatch level of modding, I am going to turn that abomination into something useful.

I forgot to mention that I've modded bird cages so the birds never lose hunger. While I do like my Sims actually having to take care of their pets, the bird hunger fix does not work for me and I got tired of birds dying just because I left the game paused. One day I might try to actually fix the issue, but for now I'm content with birds that don't need to eat. I don't mind the cage being open, I think it's cute to see the bird zoom around the house.

I've also started putting more Seasons fish on walls, because the penguin is so darn cute when he walks by and tries to get to the fish on the wall. Gives my Sims a purpose for all those fish they caught on their three lakes vacation (they rarely eat fish because I personally detest all things ocean so I am not inclined to direct them to cook fish-dishes).

Couldn't agree more. The really stupid part is that the toy dog pen is intended for apartments, but takes up more room than any other pet! And the game doesn't even treat that poor little dog as a pet, deleting it like furniture when the family moves out. It's the only "animal" I don't like, and I don't like it because the game doesn't treat it as an animal.

I'm not a big fan of the birds, with their endless squawking and the way even adult Sims just leave the cage door open, but I usually let Sims have one if they really want one. Watching a Sim gain charisma from talking to a bird is a whole lot more fun than watching them talk to a mirror.

I love the womrats/guinea pigs. I've had them in real life (five of them at one point!) and I love the pixel version, too. I often let students have them, as long as they don't have to keep them in the bedroom, because they're the easiest to care for.

The cats are lovely, and my favourite Sim dogs are beagles and rottweilers. I don't think Maxis did such a good job with the long-haired breeds.

@Gummilutt - do you have twojeff's caged pet fixes? Or did it not work for you?

Has anyone heard parrots complain about someone blocking their way when they want to use the stairs? I haven't if it's possible, even though I've listened to flying drones whine in Kearin's voice.

Penguins I just adore. Ever since I first noticed them after getting the ultimate collection, I've referred to them as my lucky charm. Seems that something good has always happened in their presence, but that's just me. When a penguin shows up and I have fish, I won't hesitate to lay a few down outside. Then, watching them talk to snowmen is quite humorous, especially if they uncover certain topics that would make you wonder.

I've see the parrot have thought bubbles when someone was in the bathroom.

I never use the dog pen either. The first thing I want to do with the dog in it is let it out. Be free!

I seem to be the only one that likes having their birds roam free though. The first thing I do when I get a bird is have someone open the cage door so the bird can fly around and isn't stuck in a cage. I also have some remeshes that remove the cage appearance.

I brought that dog pen thinking it was like a puppy pen that when they grow up they'd be able to roam. That thing disgusts me.
1st. Dogs and Cats share 1st place.
2nd. Birds
3rd. Womrats /Assorted womrat Mod animals.
4. Assorted Rebeckah's Farm NPCs
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Sideways 8. That Thing.

I once bought a puppy pen. ONCE. The thing will never be used in my game again.
Most of my sims have cats and dogs, some have birds, and I rarely get them fishes and rodents.