The Sims 4: Cats & Dogs

The Cats & Dogs expansion pack for The Sims 4 was developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts, released in 2017. It arrived as one of the franchise’s major content expansions and required the base game to play, bringing pets and veterinary gameplay into the Sims sandbox.

The pack introduces a powerful Create A Pet tool that lets players design cats and dogs with detailed appearance controls, unique personalities and outfitting options, and it adds the coastal world of Brindleton Bay where Sims can live with and interact with pets. New gameplay systems include pet behaviours and bonding mechanics, the ability to train and play with animals, and the full veterinarian career where Sims can build and run clinics, diagnose ailments and perform treatments and surgeries.

Promotion for Cats & Dogs used Electronic Arts’ and Maxis’ standard marketing channels, including trailers, social media reveals and community showcases that demonstrated the Create A Pet tool, the vet clinic gameplay and the new Brindleton Bay world. The developer and publisher leaned on creator streams and videos to show off pet customisation, animal behaviours and clinic management to encourage roleplay and storytelling with pets.

Reception was generally positive among many players who praised the depth of the pet creation tools, the charm of animal behaviours and the addition of a playable veterinarian career, while some users noted technical issues at launch and desired even deeper pet systems. Overall the expansion broadened The Sims 4’s life-simulation focus by adding beloved companion gameplay and a new world that remains popular for players who enjoy family and pet-centred storytelling.