Most players in Shift At Midnight treat the pet selection screen like a cosmetic choice and move on. It isn't. The animal you pick at the start of the game will get sick, rack up medical bills, and potentially die if you don't manage your money carefully across the 13 nights you have to work with. Worse, letting your pet die directly changes the ending you receive. This guide breaks down every available pet, what treatment costs look like, and exactly how to budget for the surgery that saves them.
What pets are available in Shift At Midnight?
At the beginning of your run, you choose one companion from three animal categories. Here's what the current build offers:
None of these pets give you any mechanical advantage during gameplay. The dog doesn't sniff out doppelgängers. The cat doesn't warn you about threats. The goose is just a goose. Your choice is purely personal, but you can still change your mind before heading deeper into the first night, so don't stress the decision immediately.
Choose your pet at the start
How does your pet get sick and why does it matter?
Your pet starts out healthy. At some point during your adventure, they will fall ill. This isn't optional or avoidable based on current information, so plan for the cost from night one rather than scrambling when it happens.
The reason this matters beyond the emotional investment: the ending you unlock is tied to whether your pet survives. Letting them die isn't just sad, it actively locks you out of certain outcomes. Keeping them alive requires money, and money in Shift At Midnight comes from two sources: your daily personal funds and your sales commission.
Sales commission funds treatment
How much does pet treatment cost?
Treatment happens in stages. The costs are fixed:
- First treatment: $20
- Subsequent medicines: $40 each
- Surgery: $250
The total you need to cover everything comes to $310. That's the number to keep in mind from the moment you start your first shift.
How do you earn enough money to pay for the surgery?
Here's where the pressure comes in. You have 13 nights to accumulate $310. Your personal funds grow at $10 per day, which adds up to $130 across all 13 nights. That leaves a $180 gap.
To close that gap, you need to generate $1,800 in total sales. The game pays you a 10% commission on everything you sell, so $1,800 in goods sold equals exactly $180 in commission. Combined with your $130 in daily funds, you hit $310 and can cover the full treatment cost.
Hit $1,800 in sales to cover costs
The math is tight but achievable if you treat every night as a sales opportunity rather than just a survival exercise. Prioritize moving product alongside avoiding whatever is hunting you.
What happens if you don't pay for treatment?
Skipping payments leads to your pet dying. Beyond the obvious, this affects the game's ending in a negative way. The exact ending variations aren't fully detailed in current information, but the connection between pet survival and ending outcome is confirmed. Budget for the surgery from night one rather than treating it as optional.
For more strategies on surviving the store and maximizing your runs, check out the full Shift At Midnight strategy guides collection. If you're looking for more indie games with this kind of pressure-cooker design, there's plenty worth exploring beyond this one.