DogLife and CatLife: Candywriter’s Other Life Simulators Explained
Quick Answer
If you love BitLife, you should know about its two animal spin-offs. DogLife lets you live a whole life as a dog, and CatLife lets you live one as a cat. Both are free text-based life simulators made by Candywriter, LLC, the same developer behind BitLife, and both follow the same idea: you make choices, random events happen, and no two lives play out the same. The difference is the point of view — instead of school, jobs, and careers, your life is about breeds, habitats, survival, and climbing the animal hierarchy. This guide explains what each game is, how they differ from BitLife, and how to get them officially.
Table of Contents
What Are DogLife and CatLife?
DogLife and CatLife are separate games, not modes inside BitLife. Each one is its own free download with its own saves, and each one is published by Candywriter, LLC on Google Play and the App Store.
DogLife: life as a dog
DogLife (full store name: BitLife Dogs – DogLife) launched in November 2021. Its store description asks a simple question: what would it be like to live life as a dog? You can be a ruff-and-tough stray on the streets, an attention-hungry house dog, or a pampered best friend — and your story unfolds through hundreds of scenarios.
CatLife: life as a cat
CatLife (full store name: BitLife Cats – CatLife) launched in January 2022, a few months after DogLife. Its pitch mirrors DogLife’s: what would it be like to live life as a cat? You can be a sassy, independent stray kitty, a lovable smitten kitten, or the companion of a cat lady — again through hundreds of scenarios.
The same formula, a different species
Both games copy BitLife’s core formula — text choices, random events, and a life that changes with every decision — but they strip out the human systems. There are no university degrees, office jobs, or weddings here. Instead, the drama comes from survival, territory, other animals, and the humans around you.
How DogLife Works
Choose your breed
DogLife offers dozens of breeds to play as, including golden retrievers, bulldogs, German shepherds, rottweilers, pitbulls, and Shiba Inus. Your breed is your character’s starting identity, much like a BitLife character’s birthplace and family.
Choose your starting habitat
Every DogLife life begins in one of four habitats: a household, a shelter, a pet store, or life as a stray dog on the streets. The habitat shapes your whole run — a house dog’s problems are nothing like a stray’s, and a shelter dog’s story starts with the hope of adoption.
Live, survive, and climb the hierarchy
As you age through your dog’s life, you make choices in scenarios, interact with humans and other animals, and work your way up the animal hierarchy — the game’s way of tracking how dominant your dog becomes. The store description even teases the old rivalry: dogs can keep the feud with cats going, or become everyone’s faithful friend.
Ribbons, achievements, and extras
Like BitLife, DogLife lets you collect achievements and ribbons to mark the lives you have lived. Two extra features stand out: a kennel feature for sending puppies to friends, and a custom character feature that lets you recreate a real dog from your own life and play through its virtual story. There is also a scent-collector side goal — gathering as many smells as possible in a scent database.
How CatLife Works
CatLife mirrors DogLife almost exactly, with cats in the lead role.
Breeds and habitats
CatLife offers its own long breed list — Persian, Himalayan, Maine coon, Siamese, calico, sphynx, and many more — and the same four starting habitats: a household, a shelter, a pet store, or life as a stray cat on the streets. A stray kitten scavenging for food plays nothing like a pampered house cat grooming by the fire.
The same systems, feline-flavoured
CatLife keeps DogLife’s systems: achievements and ribbons, the kennel feature (for sending kittens to friends), custom characters built from your real cat, the scent-collector goal, and the animal hierarchy to climb. The rivalry flips sides — here, cats get to show dogs who is better, or make peace with them instead.
Why two games instead of one?
Candywriter made the games as a pair, and the pair structure is part of the fun: each game teases the other species. DogLife dares you to school the cats; CatLife dares you to school the dogs. Players who enjoy one usually try the other to see the same world from the opposite side of the feud.
How DogLife and CatLife Differ From BitLife
| BitLife | DogLife / CatLife | |
|---|---|---|
| You play as | A human, birth to death | A dog or a cat, puppy/kitten to old age |
| Main systems | School, careers, money, relationships | Breeds, habitats, survival, animal hierarchy |
| Length and depth | Very deep, decades of systems | Simpler and lighter, built for quick lives |
| Ribbons | Yes, on the gravestone | Yes, achievements and ribbons too |
| Price | Free with optional paid packs | Free downloads on both stores |
Simpler, but the same spirit
Guides describe DogLife as simpler than BitLife, focused on survival, interaction, and lifestyle rather than careers and wealth. That is a fair summary of both animal games: fewer systems, but the same unpredictable, choice-driven storytelling that makes BitLife replayable. If BitLife ever feels too big, these are the lighter version of the same idea.
Which One Should You Play?
Play the animal you like best — that is genuinely the whole decision. Dog people start with DogLife; cat people start with CatLife; completionists play both, since each game jokes about the other. Neither game needs BitLife installed, and progress in one does not carry into the other — or into BitLife itself.
If you want more games in this style after these two, our list of games like BitLife covers other life simulators worth trying, and our comparison of BitLife vs BitLife GO! explains Candywriter’s faster human spin-off. You can also read how BitLife’s localized editions work in our guide to BitLife BR and BitLife Español.
How to Get DogLife and CatLife Officially
Both games are free downloads from the official stores only:
- DogLife: search “BitLife Dogs – DogLife” on Google Play or the App Store and check that the developer is Candywriter, LLC. Its Google Play package is com.candywriter.doglife.
- CatLife: search “BitLife Cats – CatLife” on Google Play or the App Store and check that the developer is Candywriter, LLC. Its Google Play package is com.candywriter.catlife.
Check each store page for its current ads and in-app purchase options before you install. Never download these games from third-party file sites — clone listings exist for popular games, and the developer name on the official store page is your simplest safety check. More guides are collected on the BitLife Guide homepage.
FAQs
Are DogLife and CatLife made by the same developer as BitLife?
Yes. Both are made by Candywriter, LLC, the developer of BitLife. They are separate games, not modes inside BitLife.
Is DogLife free to play?
Yes. DogLife is a free download on Google Play and the App Store. Check its store page for its current ads and in-app purchase options.
What is the difference between DogLife and CatLife?
DogLife lets you live as a dog and CatLife lets you live as a cat. Both share the same structure — breeds, four starting habitats, scenarios, ribbons, and the animal hierarchy — with the species and its rivalry flipped.
Do DogLife and CatLife have ribbons like BitLife?
Yes. Both games let you collect achievements and ribbons to commemorate the lives you have played.
Can I play as a stray in DogLife and CatLife?
Yes. Both games offer four starting habitats: a household, a shelter, a pet store, or life as a stray on the streets.
Get the Official Game
Download BitLife by Candywriter only from the official stores:
About the BitLife Guide Team
Written by the BitLife Guide team — we play BitLife daily and write simple, honest guides for new and returning players.
