How to Adopt Pets in Sims 4: A Complete Guide

Pets add a whole new layer of life to your Sims household — whether you want a loyal dog trotting alongside your Sim on morning jogs or a mysterious cat knocking things off the counter at 3am. But adopting pets in The Sims 4 isn't quite as simple as clicking a single button. The process depends on which expansion pack you have installed, what type of pet you want, and how you want your Sim to acquire it.

First, You Need the Right Expansion Pack 🐾

The Sims 4 base game does not include pets you can fully interact with as household members. To adopt cats or dogs, you need the Cats & Dogs expansion pack. This pack introduces full pet ownership, veterinary careers, pet customization, and a dedicated world called Brindleton Bay.

If you're interested in smaller animals — like hamsters, hedgehogs, or miniature turtles — those are covered by the My First Pet Stuff pack, though this pack works as a companion to Cats & Dogs rather than a standalone pets experience.

For horses, The Sims 4 added them through the Horse Ranch expansion pack, which introduced an entirely separate set of mechanics around equine ownership, training, and ranch management.

Knowing which pack you have installed determines every adoption method available to you.

How to Adopt a Cat or Dog

Once you have the Cats & Dogs expansion installed, there are three main ways to bring a pet into your household.

1. Adopt Through the Phone or Computer

This is the most straightforward method. Have your Sim:

1. Click on their phone or a computer
2. Navigate to "Household" (phone) or "More Choices" (computer)
3. Select "Adopt a Pet"
4. Choose between a cat or dog
5. Browse available pets and select one

The pet arrives shortly after and becomes part of your household immediately. This method has no in-game cost — it's free to adopt.

2. Find a Stray and Build a Relationship

Strays roam the neighborhood regularly, especially in Brindleton Bay. You can:

• Approach a stray and interact with it repeatedly over multiple in-game days
• Build up the relationship meter through petting, playing, and feeding
• Once the relationship is strong enough, the "Ask to Move In" option becomes available

This route takes longer but can feel more organic, and it lets you handpick a pet whose traits you've already observed in the wild.

3. Have a Female Pet Give Birth

If you already own pets of opposite genders, there's a chance they'll breed and produce a litter. You can also find a breeding partner among neighborhood strays or through other Sims' pets. Puppies and kittens born this way are automatically added to the household, up to the household size limit of 8 Sims and pets combined.

How to Adopt a Horse

In the Horse Ranch expansion, the adoption process is handled differently:

1. Use your Sim's phone or a computer
2. Select "Buy/Adopt a Horse" under the Household menu
3. Browse available horses and purchase one — horses have an in-game Simoleon cost, unlike cats and dogs
4. The horse arrives at your lot and needs a properly set-up stable to be cared for

Horses require considerably more space and infrastructure than cats or dogs, so lot type and size become meaningful variables here.

Pet Traits and Temperament Matter

When adopting through the phone or computer, you'll notice each pet has randomly assigned traits — things like Playful, Friendly, Aggressive, Skittish, or Independent. These traits directly affect how the pet behaves and how much work it takes to train them.

If you're a newer player or don't want to invest heavily in pet training, Friendly or Independent traits tend to make the experience smoother. Players who want more of a challenge or a deeper gameplay loop often find mixed or difficult traits more rewarding.

Household Limits and Space Considerations 🏠

The Sims 4 enforces a combined household cap of 8 members, counting both Sims and pets. If your household is already large, you may not be able to adopt until a member moves out. Horses also require a lot with enough outdoor space — smaller residential lots can create functional issues with horse ownership even if the game allows it technically.

Caring for Your Pet After Adoption

Adoption is the beginning, not the end. Pets in Sims 4 have their own needs bars — hunger, energy, bladder, and social — that require regular attention. Dogs can be trained to perform tricks and follow house rules. Cats are considerably more autonomous but still need feeding and attention to maintain a strong bond.

The Veterinary career and the ability to build your own animal clinic are also part of the Cats & Dogs expansion, opening up a whole parallel gameplay system if you want to go deeper than casual pet ownership.

What Shapes Your Own Experience

How pet adoption plays out in your game depends on several intersecting factors: which expansion packs are active, the current household size, what world your Sim lives in, and how much time you want to invest in pet-related gameplay mechanics. A player running only Cats & Dogs on a small lot with a full household has a very different set of options than someone running Horse Ranch on a large rural lot with room to build a stable.

The mechanics themselves are consistent — but the practical path to adopting and keeping a pet smoothly depends entirely on the specifics of your current save.