Pet Care

Cat Faces

Introduction

If you're a member, then you might have thought about having a pet to take care of in your spare time. What better way to while away the long hours while increasing your fishing, mining, or woodcutting skills? This guide explains the pet interface which helps you raise and care for your pet. There are many choices of pets in RuneScape, but there are different requirements for getting them. Most pets have a summoning requirement, and are listed under Pets in the Summoning guide). Pets that don't (felines and fish) are listed in this guide. Read on, and remember...your pet will love you and will provide hours of enjoyment, IF you take good care of it.

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Pet Care

Pet care was revolutionised by the Pet Interface. When you drop a pet to follow behind you, you will be able to access the Summoning Interface. Right click on the wolf image on the side of the minimap and choose Follower Details.

Summoning Interface

This will produce a screen where you can manage your follower.

Pet Interface
  • Food dish - this percentage shows how hungry your pet is. 0% means it's full, but at 100% cats will run away. More on that in a moment.
  • Big/Little dog - this percentage shows how close your pet is to maturity. At 100%, a baby pet will become an adult.
  • Whistle - calls your pet to your side instantly. This is useful if it has gotten stuck behind a fence or building.
  • "No" sign - allows you to dismiss your pet, losing it forever. A second menu will ask if you are sure you want to shoo your pet away.

GROWTH

Your baby pet will only grow when it is following behind you. It will not grow in the bank or in your inventory. It takes 2-3 hours of game time following you for a kitten to grow up. Some babies take much longer. You cannot make a baby pet grow faster by feeding it a lot - it just takes time.

HUNGER

To feed your pet, just click on its favourite food and use it on your pet. (Don't eat it yourself accidentally!)

Hunger is a critical issue for cat owners, because you can lose your pet forever - it will run away if it gets 100% hungry! This however does not effect other pets, only cats. Other pets will stay with you even at 100% hunger.

At 78% hunger, your pet's hunger percentage turns red, indicating a problem. If it continues, you get two messages in your chat window as your pet's hunger level becomes critical: the first warning at 84% and the final warning at 94%. (At 100%, you simply get a message that your pet has run away.) However, it's easy to miss these if you are in combat or doing a lot of clicking!

If you don't have any food with you, simply PICK YOUR PET UP. It does not get any hungrier while in your pack or bank (nor does it grow), so it won't run away if you just carry it. Later, when you get some food, have it ready before you drop your pet, so you can feed it immediately.

You don't have to feed your pet each time it barks, meows, or makes a noise. You can, but you don't have to. You only have to feed it when you get a message that's it's hungry (or use the pet interface to monitor its hunger). However, kittens are unique because they also need loving attention! See the Kittens section of this guide for overall information.

Kitten Interface Dialogue
The messages shown while raising a pet kitten.

MORE PET FACTS

When you take your pet out to follow you, make sure you always have an empty inventory spot for it, or it may run away.

Jagex allows only one follower (either a familiar or a pet) behind you at any time. You can take more than one pet out of your bank and put it in your inventory, but you can only have one follower out. To change the pet that's following you, first pick up your current follower, then drop the new one.

Note that if you die with your pet out you will lose your pet.

Your pet will follow you wherever you go, even if you are running. If it gets stuck behind a gate, fence or wall, keep going and it will automatically catch up with you. (Or use the whistle on your pet interface to call it.) Check your inventory if it looks like your kitten may have disappeared--kittens are mischievous, and like to hop into your bag when you're not looking.

When you climb ladders and stairs or when you teleport, your pet will follow you, and you don't have to pick it up. Teleporting includes Teleportation Spells, enchanted jewellery teleports, spirit trees, fairy rings, gnome gliders, ships ... nearly every mode of transportation. Your pet will not get on by itself, but you don't have to pick it up before taking off, either. When you land, your pet will be right behind you!

Some transportation networks are a little more fussy. The balloons, canoes and magic carpets require you to pick up your pet before you can ride, so be sure you have a slot for it.

Note that you may only own one of each type of pet. For instance, if you have a Monkey in your inventory, bank, or following you, you cannot have catch or own another one. However, making use of the Menagerie room allows you to have more than one of most types of pets - simply storing your extras in your POH will allow you to obtain more.

Cats have unique limitations, since they were the first pet in the game. You can only have one kitten or regular-sized cat at a time (the menagerie does not accept kittens). You can get a new kitten when your other cat is overgrown. You can collect as many overgrown cats as you like, but you can only have one wily or lazy cat.

Pet Free Zones

Sadly for animal lovers, there are a few areas in the game where pets are unwelcome, and must either be carried in their owners' inventories or banked:

Cats especially dislike getting wet, so if you decide to go diving at the Mogre Camp or other quest diving spots, be sure to bank your cat so it won't get cranky.

Since construction areas are dangerous, you must pick up your kitten or cat before entering Build mode at your player-owned house. However, you can create a cozy cat bed in your kitchen, and if you are not in build mode, place your feline in it. If it's sleeping in its basket, the moment you leave your house, it will follow you. Refer to our Construction Guide for more information on creating a cat bed in your house.

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Kittens

Pet KittenGetting a Kitten

To get a kitten, all you have to do is start and finish Gertrude's Cat quest. It's an easy quest, and the reward for returning Gertrude's lost cat is, you guessed it, a pet kitten of your very own! If you lose your kitten, you can go back to Gertrude, and she will gladly give you another one for a fee of 100gp.

Ordinarily, you cannot choose your kitten's colour. If you don't like the one Gertrude gives you, you'd have to raise it before you could get another kitten. However, there's another way. Put the kitten on the ground, click the pet interface and select "dismiss pet". Your kitten will leave, and you can buy another from Gertrude.

Creature of Fenkenstrain quest, and have activated it during the Garden of Tranquillity quest, you can choose. Wear the ring of Charos(a), and when Gertrude tells you the price, select the "charm" option. You'll be able to pick your kitten's colour.

Kittenchoices

Feeding Your Kitten
Kittens eat fish, either raw or cooked. They don't eat any kind of meat, and they don't drink water, though they will drink a bucket of milk. Your cat will eat any kind of fish except eels (both Slimy and Lava).

Loving Your Kitten
You MUST interact with your kitten some. You get some warning messages that your kitten needs attention. If you ignore them, your kitten will run away. It's easy to miss these popups if you are in combat or doing a lot of clicking. You can either stroke your kitten, or play with it, or talk to it. This does not need to be done every time it meows - just occasionally.

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You can use a ball of wool to play with your kitten. See the Crafting Guide to learn how to make a ball of wool.

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You can use a Mouse toy (a mouse on a string) to play with your kitten. This item is a reward from the Tale of Two Cats quest.

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Players who complete the Icthlarin's Little Helper quest receive a Catspeak Amulet. This will allow you to talk to your kitten (and cat, when it grows up). You can also talk to other people's kittens and cats, including the infamous Bob, the Jagex Cat. If you can find him, that is...

Your kitten can chase small level-1 rats, but it only has a 15% chance of catching it. To get your cat to chase rats, just click on your cat and select "Chase vermin". These little rats are all over Runescape, but are especially present in sewers such as Varrock and Draynor.

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Cats

Here are what kittens look like when they grow up into cats:

Cats

Once your kitten has grown into a cat, you don't have to feed it any more, but you can still pet it and play with it. It will show its appreciation by rolling around on the ground at your feet. Now that your cat is full grown, it will also want to chase rats. Cats are much better than kittens at chasing rats, with a 70% chance of success. There are tons of little rats in the Varrock and Draynor Sewers, making them excellent place to train your cat.

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If your cat catches 100 rats, you will be awarded a cat training medal. Talk to Gertrude to get your medal. Obtaining the training medal is one of the Varrock Tasks, so be sure to start the set before getting it. The cat training medal is otherwise purely for decoration.

CATS INTO DEATH RUNES?!
If you don't want your cat any more, you may sell it (any size or type of cat, except kittens.) If you've done the Biohazard Quest, you can sell your cat to a civilian in West Ardougne (near the Underground Pass entrance) for 100 death runes. Wear your cloak from the Ardougne Achievement Diary to receive 200 death runes instead. You can then buy a new kitten from Gertrude, if you wish.

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Overgrown Cats

For your cat to become an overgrown cat, you just have to keep it out of the bank and your inventory for about four more hours of game time. An overgrown cat does not need to be fed, nor does it need any attention.

Here are what overgrown cats look like:

Overgrown Cats

As with regular cats, you can sell your overgrown cat in West Ardougne - they will pay 100 death runes for it. You can also keep your overgrown cat and get a new kitten, but you can only have one of them following you at a time. Just visit Gertrude to get a new kitten -- they cost 100 gp each, the same price Gertrude charges for new owners.

Overgrown cats can chase rats, but they simply are too big and slow to catch any. So be sure to do your rat chasing and get your medal before your cat becomes overgrown. Remember...once your kitten becomes a cat, you have about four hours of game time before your cat becomes an overgrown cat. The time your cat spends in the bank or in your inventory doesn't count.

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Wily and Lazy Cats

On completion of the Rat Catchers Quest you can talk to Felkrash in the Port Sarim Rat Pits and turn your overgrown cat into a Wily cat. A Wily cat has heightened abilities but also requires more effort on your part. Your Wily cat will require more exercise than normal: chasing butterflies, rats or Kalphite larvae. If you don't exercise your cat it will turn into a Lazy cat. To change it back to a Wily cat you will have to take it out and give it plenty of exercise. While your Wily cat is out you may talk to other Wily cats (if you have your Catspeak Amulet equipped). While talking to other peoples' cats you may get hints about whose cat is stronger. The stronger cat will claim to be better, but make sure you don't agree with it!

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Hellcats

After completing the Evil Dave subquest in Recipe for Disaster quest you will be able to convert your cat (or any other stage of cat) into a Hellcat (or Hellkitten, etc.) A Hellcat is much like any other cat but with longer teeth and an evil red glow. In order to convert your cat to a Hellcat you need to have it catch 7 hellrats (the ones Evil Dave's mum tells you about). You can change your Hellcat back to a normal cat at any time by feeding it milk (Evil Dave's mum will give you some for free, if you need it).

Hellfelines
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Clockwork Cats and Mice

Clockwork items can be player made or bought from another player. Making cats and mice requires a clockwork, a plank, and access to any player's home workshop with a level 4 crafting table. (Table requires level 42 Construction to build.)

Making a clockwork cat also requires level 85 Crafting. A clockwork cat does not require feeding and will not chase rats. It does nothing but follow you around.

Clockwork mice requires level 33 Crafting. Once you have a clockwork mouse you can get your real pet cat (not a clockwork cat) to chase the mouse. If your cat catches it, the mouse will be destroyed.

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The Rat Pits

Note: This minigame is 'High Risk' for your cat, under some circumstances your cat can die!

After completing the Rat Catchers Quest you will gain access to the Rat Pits. There are four Rat Pits, one for each type of cat:

  • The Ardougne Rat Pits are for kittens.
  • The West Varrock Rat Pits are for cats.
  • The Keldagrim Rat Pits are for overgrown cats.
  • The Port Sarim Rat Pits are for wily cats.

The rat pits are like a Duel Arena for cats. You must challenge another player to a 'duel.' (Note: Jagex has designated world 138 for Rat Pits, so you may be more likely to find an opponent there.) Your cat will then be placed into the ring; you must decide on how many rats are to be killed. The first cat to kill the required number of rats will win. You may also bet on the outcome of the games; you may wager from 100 to 20,000 gp on the result.

While at the Rat Pits you need your Catspeak Amulet. With this amulet equipped you can instruct your cat to follow one of four sets of tactics:

  • "Just take care of yourself cat."
  • "Stay in for as long as you can."
  • "No guts, no glory!"
  • "Go berserk!"

These tactics determine how aggressively your cat will behave in the fight (if you forget your amulet your cat will not retreat). In the first two cases there is the chance that your cat will run away when injured, in the last two options your cat will obey you to its last breath - you will not get it back! However, if your cat is too timid you may lose the game anyway - the choice is yours.

Tip: the better (more) you train your cat on rats outside the pits, the stronger your cat will be in fights. Stronger cats are more likely to win and more likely to survive a more aggressive fighting style.

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Pet Fish

It's really easy to get a pet fish. You don't have to do a quest, and you don't have to worry about being an experienced fisherman to catch one.

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Before you can get a fish, though, you'll need something to keep it in - a fishbowl. You can buy a fish bowl from another player, or craft your own (see the Crafting Guide for detailed instructions.)

Fill your fishbowl with water and add some seaweed, as shown in the image below. Seaweed can be found at respawns across Runescape, listed in the Crafting Guide.

Fish Bowl

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There's only one place in Runescape where you can get a pet fish. Talk to Harry at the Fishing Shop in Catherby and buy a tiny net for 10gp. Then use it on one of the nearby aquariums.

Fish
You'll catch yourself a nice little fish that pops directly into your brand-new fishbowl. The colours of fish available are blue, green and spiney (which is kind of orange). You don't get to choose, so if you want a particular colour you'll want to have several fishbowls prepared.

Feeding and Taking Care of your Pet Fish

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Your fish eats ... fish food! You can get some from the respawn point on the first floor (second floor USA) of Draynor Manor. To feed your fish, just use the box with the fish.

Alternatively, you can make your own! Get an empty fish food box from Harry. The ingredients are listed on the empty box: guam and seaweed, ground up. So, get a guam leaf and some seaweed, and use them with a pestle and mortar to grind them up. (You can buy a pestle and mortar at Herblore shops in Taverley and Entrana, or at the GE.) Once you've ground the guam leaf and the seaweed, put them into the box.

Making fish food

To play with your fish, right-click and select "Play-With Fishbowl". When you do this, you will toss your fish (in its bowl, of course) up and down, and your fish will react by jumping a little. Then it will just swim some more. Be careful not to "drop" your fishbowl while your fish is in it. If you try, you will get a warning. If you proceed, the bowl will shatter with a "satisfying crash" and your fish will...erm...well, you know.

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Dogs and Summoning Pets

With the release of summoning, many new pets are available to the lonely adventurer. They include dogs, pets grown from eggs (birds, chameleons, and baby dragons!), hunted pets, Soul Wars (slayer-type) pets, and others. Refer to the Summoning guide's pet section for more information on how to acquire these creatures and what foods they need.

Summoning Pets
Summoning Level (Range) Genre Breeds
1 Dogs Bulldog, Terrier, Sheepdog, Greyhound, Dalmatian, Labrador
30-99 Eggs Penguin, Raven; (godbirds:) Guthix Raptor, Saradomin Owl, Zamorak Hawk; Vulture, Chameleon, Baby Dragon
10-95
(and Hunter 27-48)
Hunted Pets Gecko, Platypus, Squirrel, Raccoon, Monkey
4 Soul Wars Pets Creeping Hand, Minitrice, Baby Basilisk, Baby Kurask, Abyssal Minion, Baby TzRek Jad
4-72 Other Pets Rune Guardian, Tooth Creature, Broav, Giant Crab, Ex-ex parrot, Cute Phoenix Eggling, Mean Phoenix Eggling
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Corgi pet

Players who who participated in the small holiday event for Diamond Jubilee 2012 that began May 29, 2012 and ran into June had the opportunity to obtain a Corgi pet. The player could obtain the pet by completing a simple assignment from Minnie Coop in the center of Varrock square. 6 Corgi dogs ran away and Minnie Coop needed the player to roam across the map and locate the 6 dogs that went astray. Upon returning the 6 missing dogs, a player could talk to Minnie Coop and receive their own personal Corgi pet.

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Rune Guardian

Players who have completed the Rune Mechanics quest will receive a Rune guardian pet as a reward from Apprentice Clerval. The Rune guardian does not feed like other pets; instead, it has to be recharged at a runecrafting altar. You can start the quest beneath the Mage Training Arena. The colour of the Rune guardian can be changed by using it on a Runecrafting altar.
More can info can be found in the Summoning Guide.

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Tooth Creature

Players who have completed Fairy Tale Part III can obtain a Milk Tooth Creature from the Tooth Fairy, who asks for: Kebbit Teeth, Monkey Dentures, an Old Tooth, a Human Tooth and a Suqah Tooth in return. Milk and Chocolate Milk are required to feed it. If you only ever feed it Milk, it will turn into a Tooth creature (healthy), and if you feed it Chocolate Milk, even only once, it will turn into a Tooth creature (decayed) once it has grown into an adult.

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Mackers

Mackers the Turkey

Mackers the turkey could be obtained by Members as part of the reward for the 2011 Thanksgiving event. Even though Mackers is already fully grown when he joins you as a pet, you need to feed him Cake or Chocolate cake or he will run away. Should you ever lose Mackers, talk to Diango in Draynor Village to reclaim him. There are no quest or level requirements for this pet.

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Sparkles

Sparkles the Tinsel Snake

Sparkles the Tinsel Snake could be obtained by Members as part of the reward for the 2011 Christmas event. You can dismiss Sparkles through the summoning menu. Should you need to replace Sparkles, talk to Diango in Draynor Village to reclaim him. There are no quest or level requirements for this pet.

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Baby Troll

Baby Troll

Players who have completed the task "Problem, officer?" will have the option of getting a Baby troll. This is part of the Troll Warzone member's tutorial. Other tasks must be completed before you can obtain your Baby troll. The tutorial can be started in Burthorpe by talking to Ozan in the cave, near Troll Invasion. The Baby troll will be named after the first thing it eats, this is done by using a tradable item on it.

WARNING: any item you use on your Baby troll will be lost. It can be renamed by talking to it and selecting "(Reset Baby troll's name)". You can dismiss your baby troll through the summoning menu. If the baby troll is lost you can re-obtain it by talking to Pvt. Shaun Keymans in Burthorpe.

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Blazehound Skypouncer

Special Pets

Special pets are pets introduced to the game via Solomon's General Store. They have far more uses and require different kinds of attention, such as feeding them special treats found only in Solomon's General Store, and interacting with them once every 30 minutes to build up Pet points, the equivalent of experience for pets.

There are currently three special pets, the Skypouncer and Blazehound available from Solomon's store, and the Bloodpouncer, a pet exclusive from prepaid cards. They start out as babies, and once they have accumulated enough pet points, which can be accelerated by feeding them special treats, they grow to the next stage. There are three stages total, baby, adolescent, and adult. Babies start with the ability to forage, which can randomly find an item from this list.

The adolescent stage of a special pet offers a direct item deposit every ten minutes, akin to the Pack yak's Winter Storage ability. Once the pet advances to its adult stage, it gains the ability to scavenge for drops from the corpses of those you slay. You may tell it to pick up a particular kind of item among this list.

  • Gold
  • Runes & Talismans
  • Herbs & Seeds
  • Weapons
  • Armour
  • Metal Bars & Ore
  • Bones & Ashes
  • Raw & Cooked food
  • Miscellaneous

The special pets can be recoloured, and feature many more animations and interactions than other pets. The pet's form can also be changed to that of any stage of growth it has unlocked, but it cannot take the form of a stage of growth it has not achieved.

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Menagerie

The menagerie is a room that can be built in a player-owned house with at least level 37 Construction and stores up to 15 fully-grown pets including cats and a pet rock. A maximum of 15 pets can be stored if a player has the highest level feeder. Eek can also be stored in the pet house. For a bit of humour, try talking to the pet rock while in the menagerie.

A menagerie is composed of hotspots to add a habitat (decoration), a pet house, a pet feeder, and a summoning obelisk. When pets are placed in the menagerie, they will roam freely throughout the house unless blocked by doors or walls. Only one menagerie can be built in a house, but an important feature is that the menagerie allows for the storage of more than one of the same type of pet, and pets stored in the menagerie do not count towards your total pet limit (which scales with Summoning level; more information here). At level 37 Construction, up to 3 pets can be stored, at level 52, 6 pets can be stored, at level 67, 10 pets can be stored at one time, and from level 92, 15 pets can be stored if you build the proper level house and feeder. More information about constructing a menagerie can be found in the Construction Guide - Menagerie and in the Construction Table - Menagerie.

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Credits

Original guide by: Kiara_Kat

Thanks to: Baffler, burden84, Cowman_133, Dhreal, dogfever, Dragarr, Eeeeediot, Flint1314, Foodfight13, greenito, Howlin1, Jaffy1, Kaphias, Kman33344, Lalala7324, Mrschrystler, nateofark, nixname, oddfaery2, pokemama, pooppie21, qwertyx45, Ravenhawk28, rncooksey32, Saliris, Siobhana, Smart Alec 9, Speedyshel, spooferfish, Speedyshel, SportsGuy, Suzanne_Vega, TheKoolKandy, TheLeonardo, tijgerforce, Vhellcat, Warriormonkx, wiseTSM, Wraithbasher, wyvren

Last updated by: Naive

Last updated: 25-Dec-2012


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