I have 3 dogs and 2 cats and have noticed something similar. I think the rate is definitely related to attention but the quality is loosely related to the pet's price. I haven't noticed any clear differences between houses with a lot of pet items vs. houses with only few, but my Dalmatian seemed to perk up a bit when he finally got a dog house and feeding bowls, but I'm not sure (and that's why I started this thread).katgames wrote:I think the rate they find treasure, and the quality of that treasure is directly related to attention. However the star deal is bogus.
All my pets are showered with attention and are finding treasure so often I can't even decorate houses without constant interruptions (not that I mind!), but my Dalmatian (2 stars, 25 lps) and Black Cat (2 stars, 30 lps) are the ones who most often find 125 or 50 simoleons. There's a noticeable difference in the quality of treasure when compared to my other pets... and yes, these two are my most expensive pets.
I don't think I've ever seen them dig up 1 simoleon, but my Greyhound (1 star, 5 lps) often digs up 1 or 5 simoleons. It's the only pet I've seen dig up 1 simoleon, and the overall quality of treasure is lower. Interestingly, he's my cheapest pet... and the only 1-star pet I have. But there's no difference in frequency because he's getting as much attention as the other pets.
The Siamese and Golden Retriever (both 2 stars, 22 lps) are somewhere in the middle when it comes to the quality of treasure. The difference between Goldie and Dalmatian is quite small, but it is there. The difference between Black and Siamese is more pronounced, but so is their price difference!
(While writing this, Cleopatra (my Siamese) wanted to prove me wrong and found 125 simoleons!

In a previous game that I had to reset because the neighbor update messed it up, I noticed a clear difference in the quality of treasure between a Maine Coon (2 stars, 18 lps) and Toyger (2 stars, 25 lps), but not in the frequency. Again, this correlates with their price!
All my pets have found LPs and I have no idea which ones are the best at it. It's a rare thing for every pet.
But, to make things more confusing, I've noticed a slight drop in the quality of treasure if no sim has been interacting with the pet for a while... but I'm not sure if this is a real correlation or a mere coincidence.
Now this is interesting! So, you've noticed a similar thing between the Black and Siamese as I have, but did I understand correctly, you also have 3-star cats and Shadow is finding better quality treasure than they are? Now this is interesting, because it would prove there's something more to the quality of treasure than just the price...My black cat Shadow will dig up 125 Simemoleans and LP frequently. The three star ones are good and quite sweet but Shadow is the true hunter. My Siamese is just special. She tries bless her heart and she gets rewarded but she never finds much. My Husky is also very good.
Hmm... if I was geeky enough, I'd record the treasure my different pets find and make some statistics...
