Pet

A Pet is a non-combatant NPC, loyal to a player, that generally requires a certain level in Summoning to own. Typically, a player must raise a pet to maturity by feeding and interacting with it. A player may have only one pet of each type (most notably God birds) but may own 2 pets of differing types beginning at level 1 Summoning, along with 2 more for every ten levels starting at level 11.

A player may only have one pet, familiar, or quest NPC (e.g. Zanik) active (following the player) at one time. Players can manage pets while active through the familiar interface, by using food on them, by left-clicking, and with direct interaction by right-clicking.

Pets may be stored in the bank or inventory, and you can store up to 15 in the Menagerie of a player-owned house (with the highest-level pet houses). Pets stored in the menagerie are inactive, requiring no care. Unlike familiars, pets may be brought into Summoning-free zones.

Non-Summoning related pets
Prior to the introduction of Summoning, the dominant pet in Gielinor was the cat, which requires completion of the Gertrude's Cat quest.

A pet fish may be obtained from Harry's Fishing Shop in Catherby, provided the player has a fishbowl containing water and seaweed (in that order). Players will need to use fish food on their pet fish to keep it alive.

A pet rock may be obtained from Askeladden during and after The Fremennik Trials quest. Pet rocks require the least attention of any pet.

A pet spider called Eek is given as a reward for the 2009 Halloween event.

A Rune Guardian is given as a reward for completing Rune Mechanics.

Summoning-related pets


The majority of pets require an appropriate Summoning level to be obtained, raised, and kept. With the exception of the Broav used in While Guthix Sleeps, pets have no real use than as 'decoration' or as a way to show off a player's Summoning level.

Caring for pets
When a pet is first obtained it will be a baby/hatchling/chick, with the exception of the Broav, which is captured as an adult using the Hunter skill, the Ex-ex-parrot which is undead, and the creatures you can obtain from the Soul Wars activity because they are also undead.

A player can monitor a pet's growth and hunger in the Summoning menu. Doing so is important, because if a pet's hunger level reaches 100% it will abandon its owner. Younger pets require food at a higher frequency than their adult counterparts, but the frequency of feeding does not affect a pet's growth rate.

Some young pets require more interaction with the player than just being fed. Kittens must be petted and played with, for example, or they will grow up disliking the player.

At 100% growth, the pet will mature into its next form. Most pets have two growth stages, but god birds have three.

Certain pets require incubation in their first stage, which requires them to be placed in an egg incubator found in the Pet shops in Taverley and Yanille. Players will receive a chat box notification when the egg has hatched. Any pet hatched in an incubator will remain there until the player chooses to retrieve it. Pet shop owners are also the only NPCs that sell specific foods for pets.

A player may speak with a pet once they are 10 or more Summoning levels above the required Summoning level to obtain that pet. Unfortunately, this means communication between pets above the level of 90 is impossible, with the exception of the monkey which the player may speak to with the M'speak amulet from Monkey Madness.

Dragon eggs and Phoenix eggs are both very rare drops from their respective creature. God bird eggs and Raven eggs are rare finds from Bird's nests.

While raising pets, some players have noted that growth is much faster while doing click-heavy tasks such as agility courses or hunting, than while doing click-light tasks such as fishing or woodcutting.

Use and Reception
When pets were first released, many players complained that pets still required food even when fully grown, unlike the cats, which required no feeding once a kitten had grown up. This was explained as stress on the server as having a pet or familiar out all the time would inevitably slow them down. This is also the reason why timers are implemented and no familiars are allowed in high player density areas such as the Grand Exchange. Pets being high maintenance ironically detracted the players that would likely have the ability to own the higher levels, and wouldn't consider keeping them out other than for Alching, Fletching or other similar passive near-bank activities. This rings true especially for pets with non-stackable food, which is the majority. Familiars however filled the gap that many thought pets would take, as skill/combat aids and beasts of burden, leaving pets largely ignored for lack of any ability.

Trivia

 * Initially, players could have mature God birds of differing Gods. Jagex limited God bird ownership to one bird for a time, but now that the menagerie has been introduced, all three God birds can be owned at once.
 * Zamorak hawks and Saradomin Owls will prevent warriors from said allegiances attacking you while in the God Wars Dungeon. This can be extremely useful for players who do not wish to be forced to wear a particular armour showing allegiance to said groups.
 * Eek, the reward for completing the 2009 Hallowe'en Event, could be considered the first pet allowed to Non-members. However, because Eek won't follow you, she could be considered similar to a Pet rock or Pet fish. Eek can also be put into the menagerie, with the option 'Interact' and it will say the same phrases.
 * The picture below contains 3 obscure\nontraditional pet-like followers, one pet in an emote, and one equipable pet (Eek): http://img714.imageshack.us/img714/5444/100329201131.png
 * The player says: "Run along; I'm setting you free." when they dismiss a pet.
 * A recent glitch that allowed pets and familiars to stop following the owner was sighted in various places. This glitch still has not been fixed yet.