To become a vet in The Sims 4 you need the Cats & Dogs expansion pack, and you have to own a vet clinic. There is no Veterinarian career in the phone’s job list. Your Sim buys a clinic, opens it and treats pets as the owner, and the Veterinarian skill grows every time they examine, treat or craft medicine.
What you need
- The Cats & Dogs expansion pack. The vet clinic, the Veterinarian skill and all vet objects come from this pack.
- Money for a lot. You buy the clinic like any other lot. A small build keeps the start cheap.
How to buy a vet clinic
- In Live Mode, click the cash register icon at the end of the Sim panel at the bottom of the screen.
- Select Buy a Vet Clinic. You are sent to the neighborhood screen.
- Pick a lot. Brindleton Bay has one premade clinic, Brindleton Pawspital in Sable Square. Anywhere else you build your own or download one from the Gallery.
- If you build your own, set the lot type to Vet Clinic in the lot panel. The game then shows the objects the clinic needs.
Objects your clinic needs
| Object | Required? | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Exam Table | Yes | Where the vet examines and treats the pet |
| Vet Podium | Yes | Check-in desk for owners and their pets |
| Waste Disposal | Yes | A trash can or bin for the clinic |
| Surgery Station | Recommended | Needed for illnesses that require surgery |
| Medicine Crafting Table | Recommended | Craft pet treats and medicine, which also trains the skill |
| Medicine Vending Machine | Optional | Sells treats to visitors |
A bathroom for customers and a break room for staff are not required, but they help keep everyone happy during long shifts.
How a shift works
Travel to the clinic and open it from the business panel. Owners arrive with sick pets and check in at the podium. Greet the patient, take it to the exam table and run exams. Each exam can reveal a symptom, and the game rules out illnesses until you can make a diagnosis and pick the treatment. Some illnesses need the Surgery Station. When the pet is cured, your Sim talks to the owner and charges them.
A new clinic starts at 1 out of 5 stars. Customers get a satisfaction score when they check in. Long waits, dirty rooms and pets fighting lower it. Good decor, fast service and friendly staff raise it.
Video guide by How To Video Game (Cats & Dogs launch era, but the steps are the same):
The Veterinarian skill
The Veterinarian skill goes from 1 to 10. The higher it is, the more likely your Sim finds symptoms during an exam. It also unlocks treats at the Medicine Crafting Table and extra perk points for the clinic.
| Level | Unlocks |
|---|---|
| 2 | Swampwater Taffy, Cooler than Liquid Nitrogen Nutrition Bar, pet mailboxes |
| 3 | Scorching Cinnamon Chew |
| 4 | The Stinkinator, Feelgood Serum treatment |
| 5 | Wellness Treat, “Soothe” during exams, bonus perk points |
| 6 | Age-Up Treat and Age-Down Treat |
| 7 | Poop Randomizer |
| 9 | Bonus perk points, “lubricate tailwagger joint” surgery |
| 10 | Ambrosia Treat, Best Vet Door |
Want to skip the grind? Open the cheat console (Ctrl + Shift + C on PC, Cmd + Shift + C on Mac, all four shoulder buttons on console), type testingcheats true, then stats.set_skill_level Major_Veterinarian 10. Replace 10 with any level from 1 to 10. More skill cheats are in our max skills guide.
Hiring staff
You start with room for one employee. More vet slots are bought with perk points. Employees have three skills: Veterinarian, Charisma and Handiness. You can pay to train them, set who cleans and who treats patients, and tell them to craft items. Good staff let your Sim run the clinic without being there all the time, but only your own Sim earns perk points.
Vet clinic perks
Curing pets earns perk points. These are the perks and their costs:
| Perk | Cost | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Additional Vet #1 | 350 | Hire one more vet |
| Unlock Vet Supply Quality | 500 | Choose the quality of vet supplies |
| Vet Rush | 500 | More patients for a while |
| Patient Patients | 600 | Owners are easier to impress and less upset by slow service |
| Additional Vet #2 | 900 | Hire another vet (needs Additional Vet #1) |
| Inspirational Speech | 900 | Social to inspire your employees |
| Lower Employee Training Costs | 1,500 | Cheaper staff training |
| Well Managed | 4,500 | Fewer bad events while your Sim is away |
| Reduce Pet Stress | 5,000 | Pets get stressed more slowly during procedures |
| The Vet Coat | 5,000 | Bonus lab coat for your Sims |
Source for skill levels and perks: The Sims Wiki.
Want a normal vet job instead?
If you would rather send your Sim to work like any other career, a mod can do it. The Veterinarian Career mod by Kiara adds a rabbit-hole vet career. It is an older mod, so check the creator’s page for a version that works with the current patch and see our mod status page after every update. A university degree is not needed to run a clinic in the base pack, but a Biology degree fits the story if you play with Discover University.
Tips for a clinic that makes money
- Start small: the three required objects, one exam table and a surgery station. Add decor later.
- Craft treats between patients. It trains the skill and gives you items to sell.
- Watch your Sim’s Energy and Fun. A tired vet works slower and patients wait longer.
- Buy Patient Patients early. It makes it much easier to climb from 1 star.
- Raise prices slowly and keep an eye on the rating in the business panel.
FAQ
Is there a vet career in The Sims 4?
Not as a normal job. In Cats & Dogs you become a vet by owning a vet clinic. A rabbit-hole vet career only exists through mods.
Which pack do I need to become a vet?
Cats & Dogs. Without it there are no vet clinics or Veterinarian skill.
What does a vet clinic need to work?
An Exam Table, a Vet Podium and a Waste Disposal object. A Surgery Station and a Medicine Crafting Table are strongly recommended.
What is the cheat for the Veterinarian skill?
Enable testingcheats true and type stats.set_skill_level Major_Veterinarian 10.
Can I bring my own pets to my clinic?
Yes. Your Sim can examine and treat their own household’s pets at the clinic.
Can I run the clinic without being there?
Yes, employees keep it running. Your own Sim still needs to work there to earn perk points, and the Well Managed perk lowers the chance of bad events while you are away.