Stardew Valley has fun and exciting features that contribute to a truly captivating gaming experience. Among these interactive elements, the adoption of pets adds an overall charm to the game. Pets symbolize the sense of companionship and the comfort of one’s virtual home.
In Stardew Valley, players can adopt cats or dogs as pets – based on their personal preferences. These adorable pets don’t leave their owner’s side and follow them wherever they go. In addition to this, pets roam around the farmhouse, curl up by the fireplace, or nap in the sun. To experience these cozy interactions in the game, players first need to learn how to get a pet.
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Updated May 2, 2025, by Usama Ali: Pets are more than just cute companions in Stardew Valley. They add a touch of liveliness to your farm and can even offer some benefits. With Update 1.6, players now have the option of getting more than one pet. ConcernedApe has even added pet Turtles to the Valley, bringing a new level of cuteness to the farm. We’ve updated this guide with details on how you can get more pets in Stardew Valley and all the benefits these companions have to offer.
How to Get a Pet in Stardew Valley
At the start of the game, Stardew Valley allows players to select their preferred animals. Players can adopt either a cat or a dog, depending on what they choose in the character creation menu.
Players need to earn 1000 Gold before they can adopt a pet in Stardew Valley. Once players achieve that, a cut scene will trigger where 
Marnie shows up at the farm’s door with a dog or a cat on the first sunny Wednesday or Friday morning in Spring. The only condition for triggering this event is that players exit the Farmhouse between 6 AM and 9:30 AM. However, the event will trigger automatically by the 20th of Spring regardless if players have made enough money or not.
Players should be mindful of naming their pet, as the name cannot be changed after it is chosen.
Adopting a pet in Stardew Valley is optional – players can say no if they don’t want a furry little creature to accompany them on their adventures.
How To Get More Pets in Stardew Valley
To expand their farm's family with more adorable companions, players can get additional pets by purchasing Pet Licenses from Marnie's Ranch in Stardew Valley. This option becomes available after players have achieved maximum friendship with their initial pet or upon reaching Year 2 of their Stardew Valley journey, even if they haven't adopted a pet previously.
The cost of adopting additional cats or dogs is 40,000 gold each. With the 1.6 update, two types of Turtle pets have also been introduced, each with a different adoption fee: one variety is priced at 60,000 gold, while a rarer purple type requires an investment of 500,000 gold.
It’s important to give the pets their own outdoor Pet Bowl to ensure their well-being and happiness. Players can commission 
Robin at the Carpenter's Shop to construct additional Pet Bowls as needed. Pet Bowls can be moved and placed wherever the player wants.
In case players want to say goodbye to a pet or make room for others, they can use the Butterfly Powder to remove a pet from their farm. This powder can be purchased from 
Krobus for 20,000 gold.
How to Take Care of Pets in Stardew Valley
Pets require love and attention to build a strong bond with their owner. In Stardew Valley, pets have a maximum Friendship level of 1,000 points. Petting a dog or a cat increases friendship points by 12. Click on the animal every day to pet it. On reaching 1000 Friendship points, a message pops up saying “
While it isn’t necessary to feed pets in Stardew Valley, pets have a water bowl located in the top left area next to the Farmhouse. Watering a pet’s bowl increases friendship points by 6. On rainy days, the pet’s bowl will automatically be full.
Each night that a pet doesn't have its own designated Pet Bowl, it will lose 10 Friendship points the following morning.
Pet Gifts
Once players reach the maximum friendship level (1000 points, or five hearts) with a pet, there’s a 20% chance each day that it will dig up a gift for them when they pet it for the first time that day. Cats have a higher chance of gifting various types of Mountain and Forest river fish, and even Bat Wings, Duck Feather, and Cheese.
Dogs are more likely to dig up various artifacts that can be donated to the Museum, like Bone Fragments, Dinosaur Eggs, Chicken Statues, and Rusty Spurs. They can also find Clay and Hardwood. Since turtles are associated with water, their gifts often relate to fishing. This can include items like Seafoam Pudding, Lobsters, Clams, and even Rainbow Shell.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 90 /100 Critics Rec: 99%
- Released
- February 26, 2016
- ESRB
- E for Everyone (Fantasy Violence, Mild Blood, Mild Language, Simulated Gambling, Use of Alcohol and Tobacco)
- Developer(s)
- ConcernedApe
- Publisher(s)
- ConcernedApe
- Engine
- Proprietary
- Multiplayer
- Local Multiplayer, Online Multiplayer
- Cross-Platform Play
- Stardew Valley does not currently support crossplay between different consoles and PC
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- RPG, Simulation
