

One of the dog doors is a pipe from the Mario games.

Users can also purchase (in-game money) Mario themed objects for their house, such as classic 8-Bit Mario and Luigi flooring, Yoshi Egg carpet, Super Mario Bros. The puppies in the game are able to wear hats based on famous Nintendo characters including Mario and Luigi, Link (cel-shaded version), Samus Aran, Kirby, and a Pikmin. They include Mario, Princess Peach, and Yoshi. Three Mario Kart-themed RC toys are available for purchase in the shop.

Note: All cats are available in all versions. Nintendogs + Cats: Toy Poodle & New Friends Nintendogs + Cats: Golden Retriever & New Friends Breeds Dogs Nintendogs + Cats: French Bulldog & New Friends Finally, the 3DS's Journal will allow players to keep track of their progress. The 3DS's pedometer tracks how many steps players walk which translates to walking the player's dog in the game. Using the system's augmented reality capabilities, players can see their animals play around in the real world by looking through the 3DS's top screen in 3D. Miis can also be attained using this method. Using SpotPass, players can acquire new toys and items for their pets to mess around with. Using StreetPass, players can exchange their dogs, cats, Miis and gifts to other owners of the game just by walking past them on the street, even if the two have never met or exchanged friend codes. Nintendogs + Cats makes use of almost all of the 3DS's abilities. A first for this game is a face recognition option that makes the animals recognize the player's face. Animals of the same breed look similar though are colored differently and have their own unique personalities, making each dog or cat unique.

While each version contains unique breeds from the start, all of the breeds available in the other versions can eventually be obtained. There are 28 breeds of dogs and 3 breeds of cats in the games. You can also buy accessories, food and furniture for your puppy or kitten. Items and menus are once again controlled on the touch screen as they were on the game's Nintendo DS predecessor. The game is still controlled via the touch screen, though instead of seeing the animals in their entirety the player will simply see a silhouette of the puppy or kitten that is identical to the images on the top screen (sans the detail and 3D effects). Because the developers wished to make use of the system's 3D capabilities, which are only present on the upper screen, they moved most of the action from the bottom screen to the top. The game plays much like its predecessor.
