Virtual pet Chrome extensions: 10 to know, and how to choose
A virtual pet Chrome extension puts a small animated animal in your browser. There are four kinds: pets you feed and care for, pets that simply keep you company, pets that live on the new tab page, and pets drawn from photos of your own dog or cat. Below are ten, sorted by kind, and how to choose between them.
We make one of them, Pawsome Family, so weigh what we say about it accordingly. We have not tested the others. What we say about each one comes from its Chrome Web Store listing, checked on October 7, 2026. Listings change, so look before you install.
Pets you look after
These work like the keychain pets of the 1990s. Your pet gets hungry, bored, or sleepy, and you feed it, play with it, and put it to bed.
- Meow, The Cat Pet. A cat that walks on your screen while you browse. You feed it, play with it, and pet it, and you can switch to a dog or other kinds of cat. Listed as free.
- Virtual Pets for Google Chrome. You raise a cat or a dog. It needs food, play, sleep, and exercise, and its health drops if you neglect it. Listed as free.
- Virtual Browser Pets. A pet that walks, jumps, and follows your clicks. You feed and walk it, and it grows the more you browse.
- Virtual Pet. A cat, dog, hamster, parrot, or fish that lives in the Chrome toolbar, not on the page. It keeps track of its mood, sleep, and feeding between sessions.
Choose this kind if you want a small game to come back to. Skip it if one more thing asking for attention sounds tiring.
Pets that keep you company
These wander around the page while you read. There is little or nothing to look after, and you pick your pet from a ready-made set.
- Shimeji Browser Extension. Small characters that walk, climb, and play on the sites you visit. You can pick them up and drop them with your mouse, and there are many characters to choose from. Listed as free.
- Screen Pet - Desktop Companions. Six animals, from a cat to a dragon, that wander your screen. You collect coins as you browse and spend them on hats and sunglasses. It works offline.
- Sleeping cat in the browser. One small cat, asleep. That is the whole extension. Listed as free.
Choose this kind if you want a little life on the screen and no chores.
Pets on the new tab page
These appear only when you open a new tab, and never on top of a website. They are the least likely to get in your way. You also see them the least.
- Tabby Cat. A new animal in every new tab. They blink, sleep, and let you pet them, and there are dogs, penguins, and bunnies as well as cats. Listed as free.
Pets made from your own photos
This is the newest kind. You add photos, and the extension draws an animated pet that looks like the real one.
- FriendPet. Turns one photo of a pet, a partner, or a friend into a character that walks across your pages, waves, and says hello. Listed as free.
- Pawsome Family. Ours. You add 1 to 5 photos of your dog or cat, and your pet walks, sits, and naps along the bottom of every tab. One pet is free for 30 days, then it is $5 a month, billed yearly.
Choose this kind if the pet you want on your screen is the one waiting for you at home.
Six things to check before you install one
- How much attention does it want? A pet you care for needs regular visits. A pet that keeps you company needs none. Decide which you want before you get attached.
- Does it stay out of the way? Look for a way to hide your pet on one site, hide it during full-screen video, pause it for a while, and change its size. You will want all four sooner than you think.
- What can it see? A pet that appears on every page has to be allowed to run on every page, so Chrome shows a broad warning when you install it. Read the privacy section of the store listing, and see what that warning means.
- Does it rest when you are not looking? A pet that keeps moving in tabs you have left open in the background is working for nobody. Prefer one that stops there.
- What does it cost? Most of the pets above are listed as free. Some extensions are free with paid extras, and some are a subscription. Check before you start, not after.
- Is someone looking after it? The store listing shows when the extension was last updated and how to reach whoever makes it. Several pets on this page were last updated in 2023 or 2024. A recent date and a real contact are good signs.
Where Pawsome Family fits
Pawsome Family is for people who want their own pet in their browser, not a character. Here is what that means in practice.
- It is made from your photos. Your pet’s shape, colors, and markings come from the pictures you add. See an example corgi or tuxedo cat.
- It asks for nothing. There is no feeding and no score. Your pet walks, sits, and naps.
- It is quiet. Your pet naps when your mouse has been still for a couple of minutes and stops moving in background tabs. From the toolbar you can hide them on a site, hide them in full screen, pause them for an hour, or set their size from 40 to 120 px.
- It does not read your tabs. The extension only draws your pet. Our privacy policy says so in plain words.
- It is not free forever. One pet is free for 30 days with no card. After that it is $5 a month, billed once a year at $60, for up to 5 pets. See pricing.
- It runs in Chrome on a computer. It does not run on phones or tablets.
If you want a game, a free pet, or a character instead of your own animal, one of the others will suit you better.
Quick answers
Are virtual pet extensions free?
Most are. Others are free to try and then ask you to pay, either once or as a subscription. The store listing says which.
Can I get a virtual pet that looks like my own dog or cat?
Yes. See how to turn your own dog or cat into a desktop pet for the ways to do it, in the browser and outside it.
Will a virtual pet get in the way of my work?
It depends on the controls. If you can hide it on the sites where you need a clear screen, and it steps aside for full-screen video, it rarely does.