Desktop pets are a fun corner of desktop software: a small character lives on top of your windows, wanders around, and reacts to what you do. I work on DesktopCat, a free desktop cat for macOS and Windows, and here are a few design considerations that come up for any app of this kind.
1. The pet must never get in the way
A desktop pet lives on the screen all day, so it has to be unobtrusive. That means a transparent window, no stealing keyboard focus, and clicks passing through everywhere except on the character itself.
2. Keep it light
Idle animation should cost almost no CPU or memory. A lightweight cross-platform shell (we use Tauri for the app) helps compared with shipping a full browser runtime, though sprite animation and window management are where most of the tuning goes.
3. Reactions make it feel alive
Small touches matter more than complex AI: napping when you are idle, looking up when you type, letting you pet, feed and drag the cat. Random-but-believable behavior beats scripted loops.
4. Be honest about what is free
DesktopCat itself and the default cat, Mochi, are free with no account needed. Optional extras (an official cats pass and a human-made custom cat from your own photos) are sold separately. The app is closed source.
Try it
macOS 13+ (Apple Silicon) and Windows 10/11 (x64): https://desktopcat.com/download
Feedback on behavior ideas for a desktop companion is very welcome in the comments.
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