For many players of The Sims 4, no house is complete with a pet. The easiest way to get a pet is to create one at the same time as creating a Sim. If you’ve missed this opportunity and still want to add a furry friend to your Sim family, you’ll have to adopt a stray.
Adopting a stray is the fastest and cheapest way to add a pet to an already existing family in The Sims 4, and it’s surprisingly easy to do.
Before you can adopt a stray in The Sims 4, make sure you have the Cats & Dogs expansion pack installed – you can’t adopt cats or dogs without it.
Finding a Stray
The easiest way to find strays is to play in Brindleton Bay, the world that was released alongside the Cats & Dogs expansion pack. This is the only world in which strays will appear without any player intervention.
If you’re playing in Brindleton Bay, you’ll occasionally find stray cats and dogs roaming the area.
If you’re not playing in Brindleton Bay, you’ll have to assign your house a specific lot trait, based on what type of stray you want to attract. Assigning your house the ‘Dog Hangout’ trait will bring stray dogs to your property while assigning the ‘Cat Hangout’ trait will bring stray cats.
Adopting a Stray
Once you’ve found a stray you like, act quickly to avoid other families in the area from adopting them first.
To unlock the option to adopt the stray, you’ll first have to raise your Sim’s friendship level with it. Luckily, this is simple – choose friendly interaction options and your Sim will quickly gain a relationship with the stray.
Once your Sim is friends with the stray, you’ll gain a new option in the stray’s menu – ‘adopt’. Simply choose this option and you’ll be given the option to rename your new pet. Once you’ve renamed them (or not), the adoption process is complete, and you can take your new pet back home.
However, you do need to make sure that your house is ready to welcome your new family member. You might need some remodeling and we have some guides ready to help you:
How to Make Half Tiles in the Sims 4 | How to Make A Basement in The Sims 4 | The Sims 4: How to Make a Pond
