diff --git a/migrations/plugins.animals-037e8d94bf0df85816f7fb3f37f34267400bab98-219174adad82bc86607c7ed6a5a1fde54f8bd3dc.sql b/migrations/plugins.animals-037e8d94bf0df85816f7fb3f37f34267400bab98-219174adad82bc86607c7ed6a5a1fde54f8bd3dc.sql
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2569010
--- /dev/null
+++ b/migrations/plugins.animals-037e8d94bf0df85816f7fb3f37f34267400bab98-219174adad82bc86607c7ed6a5a1fde54f8bd3dc.sql
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+create schema if not exists animals;
+create table if not exists animals.config (
+    id integer primary key,
+    cat_api_key text not null,
+    dog_api_key text not null
+);
+insert into animals.config (id, cat_api_key, dog_api_key)
+    values (0, '', '')
+    on conflict (id) do nothing;
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/plugins/animals.py b/plugins/animals.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..de16c14
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/animals.py
@@ -0,0 +1,279 @@
+
+
+import abc
+from dataclasses import dataclass
+import logging
+from typing import Any, Literal, Optional
+
+from bot.acl import privileged
+from bot.config import plugin_config_command
+from discord.ext.commands import group
+import discord
+from bot.commands import Context, plugin_command
+from discord.ext.commands import command
+import aiohttp
+
+from sqlalchemy import TEXT, BigInteger, Computed
+from sqlalchemy.orm import Mapped, mapped_column
+import sqlalchemy.orm
+from sqlalchemy.ext.asyncio import async_sessionmaker
+
+import plugins
+from util.discord import UserError
+import util.db
+
+CAT_API_ROOT = 'https://api.thecatapi.com/v1/images/search'
+DOG_API_ROOT = 'https://api.thedogapi.com/v1/images/search'
+TIMEOUT = 10  # seconds
+
+
+
+http = aiohttp.ClientSession()
+plugins.finalizer(http.close)
+
+registry = sqlalchemy.orm.registry()
+sessionmaker = async_sessionmaker(util.db.engine, expire_on_commit=False)
+
+@registry.mapped
+class GlobalConfig:
+    __tablename__ = "config"
+    __table_args__ = {"schema": "animals"}
+
+    id: Mapped[int] = mapped_column(BigInteger, Computed("0"), primary_key=True)
+    cat_api_key: Mapped[str] = mapped_column(TEXT)
+    dog_api_key: Mapped[str] = mapped_column(TEXT)
+
+    def __str__(self) -> str:
+        out = 'Animal plugin configuration:\n'
+        out += f'Cat API key: {"set" if self.cat_api_key else "not set"}\n'
+        out += f'Dog API key: {"set" if self.dog_api_key else "not set"}\n'
+        return out  
+
+conf: GlobalConfig
+logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
+cat_api: Optional['AnimalApi'] = None
+dog_api: Optional['AnimalApi'] = None
+
+class AnimalRequest(abc.ABC):
+    @abc.abstractmethod
+    def to_dict(self) -> dict[str, Any]:
+        ''' Converts the request to a dictionary of query parameters '''
+        pass
+    
+@dataclass
+class CatRequest(AnimalRequest):
+    # https://developers.thecatapi.com/view-account/ylX4blBYT9FaoVd6OhvR
+
+    limit: Optional[int] = None # API defaults to 1
+    order: Literal['ASC', 'DESC', 'RAND', None] = None # API defaults to RAND
+    #page: Optional[int] = None # only relevant for ASC/DESC search
+    has_breeds: Optional[bool] = None # API defaults to all
+    breed_ids: Optional[list[str]] = None # API defaults to all
+    
+    def to_dict(self) -> dict[str, Any]:
+        result = {}
+        if self.limit is not None:
+            result['limit'] = self.limit
+        if self.order is not None:
+            result['order'] = self.order
+        if self.has_breeds is not None:
+            result['has_breeds'] = int(self.has_breeds)
+        if self.breed_ids is not None:
+            result['breed_ids'] = ','.join(self.breed_ids)
+        return result
+
+@dataclass
+class DogRequest(AnimalRequest):
+    # https://docs.thedogapi.com/docs/examples/images
+
+    size: Literal['full', 'med', 'small', 'thumb'] = 'small'
+    mime_types: Optional[list[Literal['jpg', 'png', 'gif']]] = None # API defaults to all
+    format: Literal['json', 'src'] = 'json'
+    order: Literal['ASC', 'DESC', 'RAND', None] = None # API defaults to RAND
+    limit: Optional[int] = None # API defaults to 1
+    #page: Optional[int] = None # only relevant for ASC/DESC search
+    has_breeds: Optional[bool] = None # API defaults to all
+
+    def to_dict(self) -> dict[str, Any]:
+        result = {}
+        result['size'] = self.size
+        if self.mime_types is not None:
+            result['mime_types'] = ','.join(self.mime_types)
+        result['format'] = self.format
+        result['order'] = self.order
+        result['limit'] = self.limit
+        if self.has_breeds is not None:
+            result['has_breeds'] = int(self.has_breeds)
+        return {k: v for k, v in result.items() if v is not None}
+
+@dataclass
+class AnimalResponse:
+    # We could define separate CatResponse and DogResponse classes,
+    #  but they're similar enough that it's simpler to just have one.
+
+    id: str
+    url: str
+    width: int
+    height: int
+    categories: Optional[list[Any]] = None
+    breeds: Optional[list[dict[str, Any]]] = None
+
+    def get_weight(self) -> Optional[str]:
+        # The weight comes back in different formats depending on the API and the breed
+        if self.breeds:
+            breed = self.breeds[0]
+            try:
+                return breed['weight']['metric'] + ' kg'
+            except KeyError:
+                pass
+
+            try:
+                return breed['weight']['imperial'] + ' lbs'
+            except KeyError:
+                pass
+
+            try:
+                return breed['weight'] + ''
+            except KeyError:
+                pass
+        return None
+
+    def get_life_span(self) -> Optional[str]:
+        if self.breeds:
+            breed = self.breeds[0]
+            try:
+                lifespan = breed['life_span']
+                if 'years' not in lifespan:
+                    lifespan += ' years'
+                return lifespan
+            except KeyError:
+                pass
+        return None
+
+    def get_description(self) -> str:
+        if self.breeds:
+            breed = self.breeds[0]
+            out = {}
+            out['Name'] = breed.get('name', None)
+            out['Temperament'] = breed.get('temperament', None)
+            out['Origin'] = breed.get('origin', None)
+            out['Description'] = breed.get('description', None)
+            out['Weight'] = self.get_weight()
+            out['Life span'] = self.get_life_span()
+            if len(self.breeds) > 1:
+                other_breeds = [b.get('name', None) for b in self.breeds[1:]]
+                out['Other breeds'] = ', '.join(b for b in other_breeds if b)
+            description = '\n'.join(f'{key}: {value}' for key, value in out.items() if value)
+            return description
+        else:
+            return 'No breed information available.'
+
+class AnimalApi:
+    # The actual API structure is identical, just with different parameters and API keys.
+
+    def __init__(self, api_root: str, api_key: str) -> None:
+        self.api_root = api_root
+        self.api_key = api_key
+
+    async def fetch_random_animal(self, req: Optional[AnimalRequest] = None) -> AnimalResponse:
+        params = req.to_dict() if req else {}
+        logger.debug(f'Fetching random animal with params: {params}')
+        headers = {'x-api-key': self.api_key}
+
+        async with http.get(
+            self.api_root,
+            params=params,
+            headers=headers,
+            timeout=TIMEOUT,
+        ) as resp:
+            data = await resp.json()
+            if not data:
+                raise UserError('No animal found!')
+            return AnimalResponse(**data[0])
+
+def animal_to_embed(animal: AnimalResponse, title: str) -> discord.Embed:
+    embed = discord.Embed(
+        title=title,
+        url=animal.url,
+        color=discord.Color.random()
+    )
+    embed.set_image(url=animal.url)
+    footer = animal.get_description()
+    embed.set_footer(text=footer)
+    return embed
+
+@plugin_command
+@privileged
+@command('cat')
+async def random_cat(ctx: Context) -> None:
+    ''' Fetches and displays a random cat image '''
+
+    async with ctx.typing():
+        if not cat_api:
+            raise UserError('Cat API is not configured.')
+
+        cat = await cat_api.fetch_random_animal()
+        embed = animal_to_embed(cat, title='Here is your random cat! 🐱')
+        await ctx.send(embed=embed)
+
+@plugin_command
+@privileged
+@command('dog')
+async def random_dog(ctx: Context) -> None:
+    ''' Fetches and displays a random dog image '''
+
+    async with ctx.typing():
+        if not dog_api:
+            raise UserError('Dog API is not configured.')
+        
+        dog = await dog_api.fetch_random_animal()
+        embed = animal_to_embed(dog, title='Here is your random dog! 🐶')
+        await ctx.send(embed=embed)
+
+@plugins.init
+async def init() -> None:
+    global cat_api, dog_api, conf
+    await util.db.init(util.db.get_ddl(registry.metadata.create_all))
+
+    async with sessionmaker() as session:
+        c = await session.get(GlobalConfig, 0)
+        assert c, 'No configuration found for animals plugin.'
+        conf = c
+        logger.info(f'Loaded animal plugin configuration: {conf.cat_api_key=}, {conf.dog_api_key=}')
+        cat_api = AnimalApi(
+            CAT_API_ROOT,
+            conf.cat_api_key
+        )
+        dog_api = AnimalApi(
+            DOG_API_ROOT,
+            conf.dog_api_key
+        )
+
+@plugin_config_command
+@group("animals")
+@privileged
+async def config(ctx: Context) -> None:
+    pass
+
+@config.command("cat_api_key")
+async def set_cat_api_key(ctx: Context, api_key: str) -> None:
+    global cat_api
+    cat_api = AnimalApi(CAT_API_ROOT, api_key)
+    async with sessionmaker() as session:
+        conf = await session.get(GlobalConfig, 0)
+        assert conf
+        conf.cat_api_key = api_key
+        await session.commit()
+    await ctx.send(f'\u2705')
+
+@config.command("dog_api_key")
+async def set_dog_api_key(ctx: Context, api_key: str) -> None:
+    global dog_api
+    dog_api = AnimalApi(DOG_API_ROOT, api_key)
+    async with sessionmaker() as session:
+        conf = await session.get(GlobalConfig, 0)
+        assert conf
+        conf.dog_api_key = api_key
+        await session.commit()
+    await ctx.send(f'\u2705')
\ No newline at end of file