Focus apps with a pet in them, compared

By G, founder of Memenmo Studios · 6 October 2026

Checked against each app’s own website and store listing as of 6 October 2026. Prices change, so they’re left to the App Store.

Seven cute focus apps, side by side. Forest and Flora grow trees, Focus Dog feeds a dog, Focus Friend has a knitting bean, Cat on Chair a cat, and Finch is a self-care bird rather than a timer. Doggydoro, ours, is iPhone-only with a dog of your choosing, free blocking and no account.

Doggydoro is made by Memenmo Studios, the people who run this site, so weigh what follows with that in mind. Everything said about the other apps comes from their own websites and store listings, checked on 6 October 2026, and each claim is linked below. Doggydoro is also brand new this month, which means it has no track record yet.

Which focus apps have a pet in them?

Seven are worth knowing about, though one of them, Finch, isn’t a focus timer at all. Here’s how they line up on the questions people usually ask.

App	The companion	Platforms	Blocking	Price model	Account needed
Doggydoro (ours)	A dog from one of ten breeds, named by you, in a room you furnish	iPhone (iOS 17 or later)	Screen Time shields during focus, in Strict, Allowlist or Chill out, plus a bedtime lock; free	Free, with Pro as a subscription or one-off purchase	No
Focus Dog	A dog called Focus, who eats the donuts you earn	iPhone, iPad, Apple silicon Mac, Android	No app shielding described; leaving the app stops the donut machine	Free, with Pro as a subscription or one-off purchase	Has sign-up and log-in
Forest	Trees that grow into a forest	iPhone, iPad, Android, browser extensions	Deep Focus is free; a custom allowlist and multi-app Time Guard come with Plus	Free, with a Plus subscription	Used to sync between devices
Focus Friend	A bean who knits while you work	iPhone, iPad, Apple silicon Mac, Android	Deep Focus Mode locks distracting apps	Free, with Pro as a subscription or lifetime; bean skins sold separately	Not stated publicly
Cat on Chair	A cat on a chair, in a room you decorate	iPhone, iPad, Apple silicon Mac, Apple Watch	Apps and websites, with an allowlist; free	Free, with Pro as a subscription or lifetime	None mentioned; syncs through iCloud
Finch	A pet bird you raise through self-care	iPhone, iPad, Android	None described; it isn’t a focus timer	Free, with a paid Finch Plus tier	Not stated publicly
Flora	Trees, and a garden that fills with them	iPhone, Apple silicon Mac, Android, Chrome extension	The tree dies if you leave; chosen apps can be allowed on iOS 16.1 or later	Free, with in-app purchases	Not stated publicly

What is each one actually like?

Each has a different idea of what keeps you at the desk. In short:

Doggydoro

Ours. A Pomodoro timer with a watercolour dog in a small room. You start with any of eight breeds, name the dog, and it keeps you company its own way: a Greyhound is asleep by minute two, a German Shepherd stays on watch for six. Focused minutes earn bones that furnish the room, and sometimes the dog has found you something when you finish. Blocking runs through Apple’s Screen Time and is free. There’s no account, and nothing leaves your phone. Where it’s weaker: iPhone only, English only, no friends or co-focus features, no syncing between devices yet, and it’s new. The breeds page has every dog.

Focus Dog

The closest to ours, being a dog. Your dog Focus gets hungry when you don’t focus; a donut machine runs while you stay in the app and stops when you leave. It began life as Donut Dog, and has a lot going for it: Android, iPad and Mac, nine languages, weekly leagues, friends and a global leaderboard, seasonal events, and gems you can donate, which its makers turn into meals for shelter dogs. That last one is a real-world good Doggydoro doesn’t offer. More in Doggydoro vs Focus Dog.

Forest

The best known. A tree grows while you stay off your phone and withers if you leave early. Its free tier is generous: Deep Focus blocking, group sessions called Plant Together, and the forest itself. A Plus subscription adds a custom allowlist, analytics and more trees, and Forest has funded real tree planting through Trees for the Future since 2014. Its Google Play listing notes that it contains ads. More in Forest app alternatives.

Focus Friend

Made by Hank Green with Honey B Games. Your bean knits while you focus, and is very sad if you stop it. It has Deep Focus Mode, a Lock Screen Live Activity, hundreds of decorations and bean skins; Pro adds scarves. Its FAQ says it doesn’t collect or sell your personal data, and its Google Play listing declares no data collected. It’s in English only. More in Focus Friend alternatives.

Cat on Chair

A cat sits on a chair while you work, brings a gift if you finish and leaves a bit of trash if you don’t. Gifts become fish, fish become furniture. The free tier is strong: blocking with an allowlist, a to-do list, the room as a wallpaper, Shortcuts. Pro adds sound mixing, an Apple Watch app and fuller stats. It’s in eleven languages. In look and shape, it’s the app most like ours.

Finch

A self-care app, not a focus timer. You raise a little bird by checking in on your mood, journalling, breathing and setting goals. If what you’re after is gentleness about looking after yourself, rather than a timer, it’s built for exactly that.

Flora

Trees again, with a to-do list and habit garden attached. You can challenge friends to plant together and chat as you go, and opt-in Price and Care services plant real trees with partners including Trees for the Future and Eden Reforestation Projects.

Which is best for blocking distracting apps?

Forest, Cat on Chair, Focus Friend and Doggydoro all shield other apps during a session. Forest goes furthest, with Time Guard blocking on a schedule outside sessions too. Doggydoro’s Strict mode also shields websites in Safari, and its bedtime lock does a nightly version of the same. Focus Dog and Flora lean more on the cost of leaving the app, though Flora can let chosen apps through.

Do I need an account?

Not for Doggydoro, which has no sign-in and no server of ours. Focus Dog has sign-up and log-in, and Forest uses an account to sync between devices. Focus Friend, Cat on Chair, Finch and Flora don’t say plainly either way on their sites or listings.

Which works on Android?

All of them except Doggydoro and Cat on Chair. Cat on Chair’s site links only to the App Store. Doggydoro is iPhone only.

How do I choose?

Start with the one thing you care about most:

A dog, plus friends, leagues and Android: Focus Dog.
Every platform, group sessions and real trees: Forest.
Warmth, no data collected, and Hank Green: Focus Friend.
A cat, an Apple Watch app or a language other than English: Cat on Chair.
Looking after yourself, not timing work: Finch.
Trees with a to-do list and friends to chat with: Flora.
A dog with its own habits, no account, Family Sharing on every plan, iPhone only: Doggydoro.

If you’d rather not install anything yet, our free web timer runs in a browser tab.