When The Sims 4: Cats and Dogs was announced, players were upset at the development of an expansion focused on pets, but with less content than previous similar packs in the series. The Sims 3: Pets included cats, dogs, and horses as its main pets, along with wild horses, stray cats and dogs, small pets such as lizards and hamsters, and wild animals such as raccoons and deer. Upon release, The Sims 4: Cats and Dogs were missing all of these extra features, with small pets being released in a separate Stuff pack The Sims 4: My First Pet Stuff just months later.