Last week Maxis organised two chats around the Sims 2 Pets. One was for the consoles, the other for the PC version. The transcripts are online, and many questions have been answered. Some new information was given as well, for example that the expansion officially has been in production for 3.5 months. More about the in-game details are revealed as well of course: there will be 6 colours of birds, and a cheat will allow you to stop the aging of pets. Werewolves will also age, as they're still fairly normal Sims, except at night. The Kibble of Life will bring the Elixir of Sims to dogs and cats, making them younger as they drink it. By progressing your pets through careers you'll also be able to unlock special content like collars and new fur colours, something brand new for the PC version. The limit concerning the amount of Sims and Pets on a lot has also been changed again: you can have up to 8 Sims or 6 Pets, with no more than 10 creatures in total. This used to be 12 before. Children may also be able to be honest and say the dog ate their homework.

The length of the life stages have also been revealed: puppies and kittens will be like that for 3 days, whereas pets are in their adult stages for about 25 days. Elder pets will live for another 5-10 days until they die of old age. Without the Kibble of Life that is. Well trained pets can be sold to neighbours, and will bring in more Simoleons depending on the behaviours and tricks they know. Pets are denied from college, except for the caged animals. Also revamped is the invitation over the phone: you can now pick the family members you want to invite over all at once. Finally, pets can also chase the mailman even though he's fast.

For all the precise details, read through the complete transcript.