Revision 10

Overview

The pet system in Crimson Desert lets you turn stray dogs and cats into permanent companions. Pets are found roaming towns and settlements throughout Pywel, and taming them revolves around a trust mechanic. Each animal starts at 0 trust, and you must reach 100 trust before you can register it as your pet. Once registered, your companion follows you on your travels, automatically loots items from defeated enemies during combat, and stays with you permanently for the rest of the game.

There are 18 pet breeds in total: 10 dog breeds and 8 cat breeds, with 112 individual variants. You can register up to 30 pets, though only one can be actively summoned at any given time. The pet system becomes available early in the game, and the Fang Without a Master faction quest serves as a tutorial that walks you through the process of befriending your first animal companion.

Your First Pet

The earliest pet most players will encounter is a white dog standing near the center square in Hernand, right by the bulletin board. Since Hernand is where Kliff wakes up at the start of the game, this dog is available almost immediately. Buy three Fine Meat from the nearby Grocer's Shop or Butchery (located south of the inn), feed the dog three times, pet it five times, and you can register it as a companion in a single in-game day.

Hernand also has a military dog further up the path from the center square. This breed has a stockier build and carries what looks like a small quiver on its back. Both dogs accept the same food types and have identical abilities once tamed, so pick whichever one you like the look of.

In general, dogs are more common than cats during the early hours of the game. You will spot stray dogs in most settlements you visit across Hernand, while cats tend to show up more frequently as you move into later regions of Pywel. If your goal is to grab a companion as soon as possible, target the dogs in Hernand before heading out.

How to Tame Pets

Trust is the core currency of the pet system. Every stray animal you encounter has its own trust meter, which you can view in the top-left corner of the screen when interacting with it. Trust increases through two daily actions: petting and feeding. Both actions have per-day caps tied to the in-game clock, which resets at midnight.

Petting

Petting an animal grants +5 trust per interaction, and you can pet an animal up to five times per in-game day for a maximum of +25 trust from petting alone. Petting is free and requires no items. For dogs, simply approach the animal and hold the interaction button. Cats work differently: you must first hold the button to physically pick the cat up, and then press the button again to pet it while carrying it.

Feeding

Feeding is the fastest way to build trust. You can feed an animal up to 3 times per in-game day. To feed a stray, open your inventory, find a food item (such as meat or fish), hold the use button on it, and select "Take Out" from the context menu. Your character drops the food on the ground in front of you. If the target animal is nearby and hungry, it walks over and eats the dropped item within a few seconds.

Be careful where you drop food. In busy settlements, other stray dogs will rush over and eat it before your target gets there. Homeless NPCs wandering the streets can also pick up dropped food items. Your own summoned pet is the worst offender: if you forget to unsummon your current companion before dropping food for a stray, your active pet grabs the item immediately. The safest approach is to unsummon your pet first, then try to lure the stray animal away from crowds to a quiet corner or side alley before you start dropping food on the ground.

Claiming Your Pet

Once an animal reaches 100 trust, a new prompt appears when you interact with it. Hold the button to select "Take In" and the animal is permanently registered as your pet. For cats, set the cat down first before claiming it. After registration, the pet appears in your inventory under the Pets tab and can be summoned at any time.

Speeding Up the Process

The in-game day cycle limits how much trust you can earn per visit, but you can rest at campfires and cooking pots to skip forward in 12-hour increments, resetting your daily interaction counters. This lets you build trust with the same animal across multiple "days" in a single real-world sitting.

If you rely on petting alone without any food, it takes a minimum of four in-game days to tame any animal (4 days x 25 trust = 100). That is a lot of campfire resting. Bringing food cuts the process down considerably: a dog can be registered in one day with Fine Meat, and even a cat can be done in two days with any cat food plus petting.

Feeding Guide

Dogs and cats accept different foods, and the trust gained per feeding varies based on the type and quality of food offered. The table below lists every confirmed food type and its trust value.

Fine Meat is by far the most efficient food for taming dogs. Three feeds of Fine Meat in a single day provide +105 trust, which exceeds the 100 trust threshold on its own. Combined with petting (+25), you can register a dog in a single in-game day with a total of +130 trust. Meat and milk can be purchased from the Grocer's Shop or Butchery in Hernand, located south of the inn.

Cats are slower to tame because all their food options grant only +10 trust per feeding. With three feeds (+30) and five pets (+25), you earn a maximum of +55 trust per in-game day for a cat. This means it takes a minimum of two in-game days to fully tame a cat.

Pet Trust System

The trust system is the gate between a wild stray and a registered companion. Here is a summary of the daily interaction limits and how quickly each pet type can be tamed.

Best case for dogs: 5 pets (+25) + 3 Fine Meat feeds (+105) = +130 trust in one day. A dog can be tamed in a single in-game day.

Best case for cats: 5 pets (+25) + 3 feeds of Bird Meat, Fish, or Milk (+30) = +55 trust per day. A cat requires at least two in-game days to reach 100 trust.

Complete Pets List

There are seven confirmed pet breeds in Crimson Desert. Five are dog breeds and two are cat breeds. All breeds share the same core abilities (auto-looting, following), but each has a distinct appearance. Dogs and cats can be found roaming settlements across Pywel, particularly in larger towns and cities. Animals appear in different spots depending on the time of day, so visit settlements at various hours to find specific breeds.

Collecting all 30 unique pets across Pywel completes the Natural Collector life challenge, which contributes to achievement and trophy progress.

Pet Abilities

All registered pets share the same set of abilities regardless of breed. Pets do not fight enemies or deal damage. Instead, they provide passive utility during exploration and combat.

Auto-Looting

The primary benefit of having a pet summoned is automatic item collection. Your pet runs around the battlefield during and after fights, picking up loot dropped by defeated enemies. This includes equipment, materials, and consumables. Pets also gather resources from destructible objects and can collect refining materials from ores and trees while you harvest. This saves significant time during extended combat encounters and dungeon runs.

One important caveat: pets do not have a loot filter. They will pick up every item they find, including low-value gear like rusted swords and cheap boots. This means your inventory can fill up quickly if you do not manage it regularly.

Combat Invincibility

Pets are untouchable during combat. Enemies cannot target or damage your active pet, so you never need to worry about your companion dying in a fight. This makes it safe to summon your pet during boss encounters and high-difficulty areas without risk.

Exploration Companion

Your summoned pet follows you as you travel across Pywel on foot. Pets provide a sense of companionship during long exploration sessions. Note that pets disappear temporarily when you mount a horse and reappear when you dismount.

Cats have a unique idle animation that dogs do not share. If you stand still long enough with a cat summoned, it climbs up your character's arm and perches on your shoulder. The cat stays there until you start moving again. This is purely cosmetic and does not affect gameplay, but it is one of the more charming details in the pet system and a nice reward for players who chose a feline over a canine companion.

Pet Management

All registered pets are accessed through the Pets tab in your Inventory. From this tab you can summon, unsummon, and release pets.

Summoning and Switching

Open your inventory, navigate to the Pets section, and click on any registered pet to summon it beside you. Only one pet can be active at a time. To switch companions, unsummon your current pet first, then summon the one you want. Your active pet will follow you on foot until you unsummon it or mount a horse.

The 30-Pet Roster

You can register up to 30 pets in total. This matches the number of unique animals scattered across Pywel's settlements and is tied to the Natural Collector life challenge. If you want to collect them all, visit different towns at various times of day to find every breed.

Releasing Pets

If you want to remove a pet from your roster, open the Pets tab in your inventory and select the "Untie" option on the pet you wish to release. Released pets return to the wild and can potentially be tamed again if you find them in the future.

Pet Outfits

Pets can be dressed in outfits purchased from specialized tailor shops. These outfits are purely cosmetic and do not affect your pet's abilities or stats. Available outfits include musketeer attire, helmets, and armor sets. Each outfit costs approximately 2.40 silver coins.

Tailor Shop Locations

• Milou's Shop, Pororin Village: Located in the Pororin Forest area. This shop becomes accessible after completing the Unreachable Village and Authorised Access quests, which unlock entry to Pororin Village.

• Demeniss Tailor's Shop: Located southwest of Demeniss Castle. This shop has a more limited selection compared to Milou's Shop.

To equip an outfit, purchase it from a tailor shop, then open your inventory and apply it to your active pet. Each pet can wear one outfit at a time.

How to Tame the Fat Cat

The Fat Cat is a distinct cat variant that can be found in different color variations near the Naz River. It follows the same trust-based taming system as other cats, but its remote spawn location and a couple of quirks make the process worth covering separately.

Finding the Fat Cat

Fat Cats spawn near the Naz River area. Multiple color variations exist, so you may see different-looking Fat Cats across visits. If no Fat Cat is present when you arrive, simply run far enough away that the area is out of render distance, then turn around and come back. The cat should respawn when the area reloads.

Step-by-Step Taming Process

Taming a Fat Cat takes two in-game days at minimum, following the same daily caps that apply to all cats. Here is the recommended sequence:

Day 1

1. Pet the cat 5 times to bring trust from 0 to 25. Remember to pick the cat up first, then press the interaction button to pet it.

2. Feed 3 Dried Fish to gain +10 trust each, raising the total to 55. Drop the fish from your inventory near the cat and let it walk over to eat.

3. You have now hit the daily cap. Wait until midnight (rest at a campfire or cooking pot to skip time) for the counters to reset.

Day 2

1. Pet the cat 5 more times (+25 trust, bringing the total to 80).

2. Feed 2 more Dried Fish (+20 trust, reaching 100).

3. Put the cat down and select "Take In" to register it as your pet.

Where to Get Dried Fish

Dried Fish can be purchased from buckets inside a building near the Naz River spawn area. Stock up before you start the taming process so you do not have to leave mid-session and risk the cat despawning. Like other cat foods, each Dried Fish grants +10 trust per feeding.

Known Quirks and Bugs

The Fat Cat has a couple of behavioral quirks that are worth knowing about before you begin the taming process:

• Cats cannot pass through doors. If you need to move through a doorway while carrying a cat, put the cat down first, open the door and walk through it, then go back and pick the cat up again on the other side.

• Disappearing cat bug. There is a known bug where the Fat Cat can vanish after you select "Take In." If this happens, jump into the nearby water (the Naz River itself works). This forces the game to reload certain assets, and the cat should reappear in your pet roster.

Fat Cat Abilities

Once registered, the Fat Cat functions like all other Pets in the game. When summoned, it follows you during exploration and automatically picks up harvested resources while you gather from ore nodes, trees, and other material sources. It also auto-loots items dropped by defeated enemies during combat, just like every other pet breed.

Tips

• Stock up on Fine Meat early. Buy Fine Meat from the Butchery in Hernand before visiting settlements. Three Fine Meat feeds provide +105 trust, enough to register a dog in a single day without even petting it.

• Combine petting and feeding. Five pets (+25) plus three Fine Meat feeds (+105) yield +130 trust in one in-game day, guaranteeing a same-day dog registration.

• Use campfire resting to speed up cat taming. Since cats max out at +55 trust per day, rest at a campfire to skip to the next day and continue building trust without waiting in real time.

• Unsummon your pet before feeding strays. Your active pet will steal food dropped for wild animals if you forget to unsummon it first.

• Watch out for other animals nearby. When discarding food from your inventory, a different stray or NPC might grab it before your target animal. Drop food only when your target is close and facing you.

• Visit towns at different times. Animals roam to different spots depending on the time of day. If you cannot find a specific breed, return at a different hour.

• Manage your inventory regularly. Pets loot everything without filtering, so your bags will fill up fast. Sell unwanted items at vendors frequently to keep space open for valuable drops.

• Pick up cats before petting. Unlike dogs, cats cannot be petted on the ground. You must hold the interaction button to carry the cat first, then press it again to pet.

• Tame in Hernand first. The white dog near the center square is the most accessible pet in the game. Buy three Fine Meat from the Butchery south of the inn, combine feeding with petting, and you can walk out of Hernand with a loyal companion in under five minutes of real time.

• Lure strays to quiet areas before feeding. In busy towns, other animals and homeless NPCs grab dropped food before your target reaches it. Walk the stray to a side alley or empty courtyard before using "Take Out" on your food items.

• Let your cat idle for a surprise. If you stand still long enough with a summoned cat, it climbs onto your character's shoulder and sits there. It hops off when you move again.

See Also

• Pets (overview of the pet system and all breeds)

• Fang Without a Master (faction quest introducing pet mechanics)

• Combat

• Inventory

• City of Hernand

• Healing Force Palm

• Horses