Animal Hospital Beginner's Guide
Everything you need for your first ten shifts: the loop, the guaranteed patterns, a full sanity cheat-sheet, and the mistakes that kill most new players.
Free wins — fixed patterns
- Shift 1's first two patients are always safe: patient #1 goes to Room 1 and needs Herbs; patient #2 goes to Room 2 and needs Eyedrops. Free tutorial money.
- Unlock order: shutters + cameras after Shift 1 → shop + ER (Rooms 6–8) after Shift 2 → taser after Shift 3 → ambulance events from Shift 4 (then every 5 shifts).
- Economy: curing a patient = 2 Animal Coins; blocking an anomaly = 0.5; each visitor = 0.5. In-shift cash only works in the Supplies Shop.
- Knocked-out patients can be dumped in the trash to skip treatment — it doesn't count as a death. ("No one will know...")
Sanity cheat-sheet
You start at 61% sanity by default (more with the right class). Hit zero and you die — a teammate can revive you with a $1,000 Teddy Bear, but you can't use one on yourself.
| Action / event | Sanity | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Coffee (3 sips) | +15 (+5 per sip) | Machine brews one cup per 180s; can't be handed to teammates once taken |
| Chocolate bar ($120) | +60 (+20 per bite) | Best sanity-per-dollar in the shop |
| Tase an anomaly | +2 | Confirm it's an anomaly first |
| Tase/shoot a normal animal | −15 | The reason you double-check |
| Pick up a cursed photo | −10 | Let photos finish printing, look, then grab |
| Head Banger jumpscare | −20 | Happens if you shoo it without coffee |
| Camera Figure jumpscare | −20 | Zooming in on a broken feed |
| Stalker eye contact | −10 | Look at its legs, not its face |
| Bed Monster grab | −10, then −5 per 2s | Stay off the red floor |
| Ghost nearby | −2 per second | Spray with extinguisher to reveal |
| Hider grab (empty-handed) | −10 | It steals held items instead |
| Ritual candles | −1 to −3 per candle | Eyedrops/IV/coffee snuff them without loss |
| Standing near fire | −1 to −3 per second | Grab the extinguisher |
Shop upgrades worth knowing
| Upgrade | Price | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| DNA analysis +50% speed | $110 | Stacks — a top priority buy |
| Backpack +1 slot | $100 | Always useful |
| Recovery +25% speed | $115 | Faster shift turnover |
| Computer +33% speed | $110 | Quality of life |
| Second check-in window | $190–200 | Process two patients at once (rooms permitting) |
| Instant check-in | $250 | Strong in late shifts |
| Taser (1 use / 5 uses) | $150 / $250 | Insurance against Shapeshifters |
| Gun (20 rounds) | $410 | The heavy answer |
| Auto-stock medicine | $450 | Careful: delivers unneeded meds too — situational |
| Run Cola | $75 | Speed boost for events |
The Supplies Shop opens for 3 minutes at the start of each shift (from Shift 3) with 3 random items; exact unlock shifts for some items are still community-unconfirmed.
The 7 classic new-player mistakes
- 1Punching a Shapeshifter bare-handed
It costs a pile of sanity and barely works solo. Use the taser or gun, or gang up in a group.
- 2Shooing the Head Banger
That's an automatic −20. Give it coffee (sip twice first for a free +10) or just let it break the glass — the damage is cosmetic.
- 3Grabbing photos instantly
Cursed photos cost −10 on pickup. Wait for the print to develop, look, then decide.
- 4Treating slime as proof
Patients dropping slime are NOT necessarily anomalies. Static photos also stopped being a guaranteed Shapeshifter tell after the June 22 update.
- 5Forgetting Room 8's rule
The first surgery treatment is always IV drops, and the Tendril sequence bans tasers, guns and coffee — using them kills the patient instantly.
- 6Everyone drinking the coffee
Cups can't be shared after pickup and you can't see teammates' sanity bars — call out who needs it.
- 7Panicking when the shift won't end
If everything seems done but there's no "The doctor is coming" message, one of the remaining "patients" is an anomaly. Find it.
Keep reading
Values verified against community data. Last checked: July 10, 2026.