Best Gifts From Pets, Ranked

Key Takeaways

• Players can now adopt multiple pets in
  Stardew Valley
  , with each species offering unique benefits and gifts.
• Certain pet-gifted items like the Seafoam Pudding and Cheese have practical uses in quests, crafting, and as “liked gifts” for villagers.
• Pets provide gifts such as the Rainbow Shell and Lobster, which are valuable and hard-to-obtain items.

Stardew Valley‘s 1.6 update introduced a multitude of new features to explore, including additional festivals, expanded villager dialogue, and new pet options. Players can now choose from five different species of cat or dog for their first pet, and even adopt more once they’ve reached maximum friendship points with their original pet.

For 40,000g each, players can adopt additional cats or dogs from Marnie‘s Ranch, along with two varieties of turtles – one priced at 60,000g and the other at 500,000g. Once players reach maximum friendship with each pet individually, the animals will begin leaving gifts for them, with each species offering a unique set of items. This list categorizes the best of those gifted items, based on their usefulness and selling price.

10 Ancient Doll

An Artifact That Can Be Used In A Secret Event

• From: Dogs
• Chance: 0.28%
• Selling Price: 60g

The Ancient Doll is an artifact that can be donated to Stardew Valley‘s museum, and it is typically found in either artifact spots or in an Artifact Trove. However, unlike other artifacts, this item unlocks a secret.

If a player drops an Ancient Doll into the Lava Pool on the 100th floor of the mines, they will receive a secret Terraria-themed item, which can be used to craft a level 4 sword in the Wizard’s basement. An Ancient Doll can also be given as a loved gift to Jas or as a liked gift to Penny and the Dwarf, proving its versatility.

9 Rainbow Shell

A Good Item For Quests And Gifting

• From: Turtles
• Chance: 4.35%
• Selling Price: 300g

Given by turtles, the Rainbow Shell has multiple uses and a good selling price, making it a great gift to receive. One of its uses is to complete the second step of Mr. Qi‘s “The Mysterious Qi” quest, which requires players to place one Rainbow Shell in the train platform box to advance the quest and eventually gain access to the Casino in the Calico Desert.

It is also a liked gift for all villagers aside from Elliott and Harvey and can be used as blue dye in Emily‘s sewing machine. Furthermore, since the 1.6.4 update, Rainbow Shells can be placed in fish tanks as decoration.

8 Snail

Useful For Recipes, Gifting, And Community Center Bundles

• From: Cats
• Chance: 5.7%
• Selling Price: 65g or 97g with the Angler profession

The Snail is classed as a fish in Stardew Valley as it can be acquired from a Crab Pot in fresh water. Beyond its initial use in the Escargot recipe, it can also be used as part of the Crab Pot Bundle in the Community Center.

Moreover, Snail is one of Vincent‘s loved gifts and can be used to fulfill both the first and sixth Raccoon requests in Cindersap Forest. There is also a chance that either a Bullhead or Largemouth Bass fish pond may request a Snail in order to increase its population.

7 Lobster

A Loved Gift And Quest Item

• From: Turtles
• Chance: 2.17%
• Selling Price: 120g or 180g with the Angler profession

Like the Snail, the Lobster is part of the Crab Pot Bundle in the Community Center and can be obtained from crab pots, but only in seawater. Compared to some other pet gifts, Lobster has a much higher chance of appearing.

It can be used in Fall Year 2 as part of Gus‘ “Wanted: Lobster” quest and is essential in achieving perfection as it is required in the Lobster Bisque cooking recipe. Furthermore, it is one of Elliott‘s loved gifts.

6 Seafoam Pudding

Great For Catching Difficult Fish

• From: Turtles
• Chance: 1.09%
• Selling Price: 300g

The recipe for Seafoam Pudding is unlocked at level 9 fishing, meaning it typically takes a while to get this food item. When eaten, Seafoam Pudding grants players a +4 boost to their fishing stat for 3 minutes and 30 seconds, helping with difficult-to-catch fish such as the Legendary Fish.

The dish can also be used in a Sewing Machine as a blue dye when customizing clothing items. With a good selling price and great buffs, Seafoam Pudding proves to be a very useful gift from pets, helping with game progression significantly.

5 Artifact Trove

Gain Up To 5,000g

• From: Dogs
• Chance: 0.78%
• Selling Price: 0g, but once opened possibly 5,000g

Players can open the Artifact Trove at Clint‘s shop for 25g. Each item inside has a 3.6% chance of appearing, with some rewards being far more valuable than others. Rewards include an Ancient Drum and a Bone Flute, which both constitute a reward when donated to the Valley’s museum.

The most useful items from the Artifact Trove include an Ancient Seed and the Treasure Appraisal Guide. In terms of profitability, the Treasure Chest (worth 5,000g) and the Pearl (worth 2,500) are the most lucrative rewards.

4 Sturgeon

Place In A Fish Pond For Sturgeon Roe

• From: Cats
• Chance: 34.4% (but categorized under all mountain fish)
• Selling Price: 200g or 300g with the Angler profession

When placed in a fish pond, Sturgeon can produce Sturgeon Roe, which can then be turned into Caviar when placed inside a Preserves Jar. Caviar is one of the items required to complete The Missing Bundle once the Community Center has been repaired. Players who have chosen the Joja route can greatly benefit from this too, as Caviar sells for 500g, or 700g with the Artisan profession, providing a significant income boost for the community upgrades provided by Morris.

Furthermore, Sturgeon is one of Willy‘s loved gifts and is part of the Lake Fish Bundle in the Community Center. Like the Rainbow Shell and Seafoam Pudding, it can also be used as a blue dye in a Sewing Machine.

3 Cheese

Hugely Versatile And Profitable

• From: Cats
• Chance: 3.4%
• Selling Price: 230g or 322g with Aritsan profession

Cheese can be gifted to all villagers apart from Sebastian, Jas, Vincent, and Harvey as a liked gift and can be used as part of the Artisan Bundle in the Community Center. The recipes for Cheese Cauliflower, Pizza, and Pepper Poppers all require one cheese to be cooked, making it an essential item for perfection.

When aged in the Farmhouse basement for 14 in-game days, Cheese reaches iridium quality, doubling its value from 230g to 460g, or 644g with the Artisan profession. However, its most fun use is definitely putting it through the Sewing Machine to create a mouse shirt.

2 Dinosaur Egg

Hatch For More Dino Eggs

The Dinosaur Egg is a rare artifact that can be placed in the incubator inside the Deluxe Coop to hatch a Dinosaur. This is perhaps the most beneficial use initially, as once the Dinosaur is mature, it produces a Dinosaur Egg every 7 in-game days.

Other uses include donating it to the museum, turning it into Dinosaur Mayonnaise to contribute to The Missing Bundle, or running it through a Sewing Machine to make a Dinosaur Hat. As a gift from pets, the Dinosaur Egg is one of the best, as it is both renewable and highly valuable.

A Universally Loved Item

• From: Cats
• Chance: 1.7%
• Selling Price: 565g or 678g with Rancher profession

Rabbit’s Foot is a universally loved item by all villagers, except Penny. It can be used as part of the Enchanter’s Bundle in the Community Center and to create a Rabbit Shirt in the Sewing Machine.

In Secret Note #20, players are required to give a Rabbit’s Foot to the Joja delivery driver to receive a reward of permanently increased luck. Its luck does not stop there, though; if a Rabbit’s Foot is in a player’s inventory, it prevents the negative effects of the famous group 10-heart event, where players face consequences for making all Bachelors or Bachelorettes their partner. With its high selling price, multiple uses, and significant impact on luck, the Rabbit’s Foot tops the list as the best gift to receive from pets in Stardew Valley.